Chance Meeting at The Ink Pot
by teddylonglong
Summary: Severus Snape meets a six-year-old Harry Potter at The Ink Pot and ends up buying a book for the child, unaware of the far reaching effects of his spontaneous kindness. Completely AU, partly OOC, partly childic, abuse!Dursleys, Changing POVs Sev/Harry .
1. Chapter 1

**Chance Meeting at The Ink Pot - by teddylonglong**

_A.N. The beginning might be a bit similar to my story "Encounter with the Devil in the Toyshop" (which I posted under Healer Pomfrey), but the story will develop in a completely different way!_

_Warning: This will become very AU in the future!_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Severus sighed deeply as he left Flourish and Blotts. '_I don't need the book tomorrow; I need it NOW. Maybe I should try the secret room at The Ink Pot. They could have it_,' he mused as he hurried through the Leaky Cauldron to Muggle London and strode around the corner to the bookshop he visited when his favourite bookshop couldn't provide the book he wanted. The Ink Pot was a huge Muggle bookshop, but unbeknownst to the Muggles it held a secret chamber that was full with magical books, and the magical part was as well assorted as the Muggle part.

Severus entered the bookshop, sighing in relief as he left the street noise behind him. With the same measure as he despised the street traffic outside, he enjoyed the quiet of the bookshop. It was nearly as soothing as spending time in a Potions lab, his favourite place in the world; well maybe not as soothing. Severus strode towards the secret door that was placed between the travel section and the children's section of the bookshop, noticing in annoyance that a woman was deep engrossed in a dispute with one of her two sons right in front of the hidden door.

"No, I don't want a book!" the fat boy shouted, causing his mother to sigh in annoyance.

"Oh Duddeykins, reading is so nice, and I'm sure Father Christmas would bring you a whole pile of books," the mother said in a soft voice, causing the boy to jump up and down with both feet, shouting at his mother again.

"Father Christmas will bring me anything I want, and I don't want books!"

"I'd be so happy if Father Christmas brought me a book," the other boy, who was timidly standing aside, spoke up in a hardly audible voice.

The woman let out a snort. "As if Father Christmas would bring anything for bad boys like you. Father Christmas doesn't bring presents for freaks! You should know that by now."

"Yes Aunt Petunia," the small boy said quietly, sadly averting his eyes to the floor.

It was only a tenth of a second, during which Severus could see the boy's eyes, but it sufficed. He recognised them immediately. '_Lily!_' He knew that this was Lily's child. '_Oh right, Petunia_,' he remembered, '_her horrible sister, who always harassed both of us because of being magical_.'

"Now Duddykins, let's have a look if we can find anything interesting for you," Petunia said soothingly, before she hissed at the other boy, "Stay out of the way, you're enough of a burden just by being alive, you ungrateful little urchin."

Severus had heard enough to completely shake off the thought of the boy's father with the same messy black hair. Instead, memories of his own father began to push themselves to the front of his mind, but he pushed them aside and decided to try something to communicate with the boy. It was worth a shot. '_Harry, can you hear me? Don't say anything, just nod your head if you hear me_,' he telepathically transmitted to the boy without further ado.

Seconds later, Harry nodded his head, just a little bit, before he glanced around with a frightened expression on his small face. His eyes lingered on Severus for a few seconds, before he turned back.

'_Yes, it was me who spoke with you. Don't be afraid, child. I know who you are. I was your mother's best friend. Stay where you are for a few minutes and hold your aunt back for some reason if she wants to leave. I'm going to buy a book for you, and I'll insert a parchment that will enable you to contact me. I'll just leave through the hidden door in front of you and I'll be back soon. Do you understand me?_' he thought to the boy, who once more nodded slightly.

Severus strode through the secret door into the magical room. It only took him a minute to find the book he needed so urgently. '_Thank God_,' he thought and turned to the children's shelf, skimming the shelf for the booklet he wanted to give Harry. Quickly confirming that he was alone in the room, he pointed his wand at the booklet, charming it to look like a normal Muggle book called '_The Little Prince_' to Muggles. Only the man at the checkout would be able to recognise the book from the label that displayed the price. He pulled a parchment out of his robe pocket and attached it inside the book just behind the front cover, before he laid a charm on the booklet together with the parchment that would prevent anyone taking it from Harry.

With that he strode back to the Muggle part of the shop, registering from the corner of his eyes that the Dursleys hadn't moved yet, and paid for the books, before he asked the owner of the bookshop, "Can you please wrap this booklet as a present and hand it to Harry Potter, the small boy with the messy black hair and the beautiful green eyes over there?"

"Yes of course, I'll do that, Mr. Snape," the old man replied gently.

"Oh, and please don't let his aunt know my name," Severus remembered to instruct the owner of the bookshop. '_Harry_,' he once more thought to the boy, '_since I don't want your aunt to recognise me, I'm leaving the book for you here with the owner of the bookshop. He'll give it to you when you leave. I attached a parchment inside the book. If you write on it, I'll be able to read it and to reply to you. No one will be able to take the book away from you or remove the parchment. Do you understand me?_'

Harry turned around to face Severus and nodded anxiously, just as Petunia gave up convincing Dudley to add a book to his long list for Father Christmas and hurried to pay for the gardening book she had chosen earlier.

The owner of the bookshop leaned over and said gently, "A customer left a book as a present for one Harry Potter. Might that be you?" He looked straight at Harry, who stepped nearer and shyly looked at the man.

"Yes sir, that's me. Thank you very much," he said softly, happily taking the book from the man's hand.

"Why would anyone give that little bother a present?" Petunia sneered and without waiting for an answer paid for her book.

"He is a gentleman. I know him well, because he is a frequent customer," the old man said in his soft voice, glancing over to Severus, who was hiding behind a bookshelf. "Have fun reading, young man," he added gently, and Harry noticed in amazement that his eyes were twinkling with joy.

Severus watched Harry and his relatives leave the bookshop, and a small smile crept on his face. '_Well Lily, maybe I'll be able to keep my oath of keeping your child safe in spite of the Headmaster's instructions to stay away from him_.' With that he left as well and turned around a corner before apparating back to the Apparition border of Hogwarts, pondering if he should tell Minerva about the matter or keep it to himself.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Harry trailed along behind his aunt and Dudley to where his uncle was supposed to pick them up, happily cuddling his book closely. '_I have a book_,' he thought in disbelief, '_my own book, just for me, and no one can take it from me. That's too good to be real. But who was the man? He felt so... soothing. I don't know why, but I sensed it when he walked nearby. There was something. I don't know what it was though. Something about him felt familiar. I'll try to contact him later on. He must know me, because he knew my name. Oh, and he said he was my Mum's best friend_,' he suddenly remembered.

Petunia shot him a menacing glare, not used to the fact that her nephew was walking along the street with a huge smile on his face. "You ungrateful urchin," she hissed. "Aren't you ashamed? Begging in the bookshop until people take pity and buy you a book. Show it to me," she demanded, trying to take the booklet from Harry.

However, as soon as she took the book into her hands, it jumped back to Harry, who watched the book's movement in absolute amazement.

"The Little Prince," Dudley deciphered the title. "Mum, that sounds interesting. I want the book. Take it away from the freak," he began to whine, causing Petunia to take pity on her son.

"Give the book to Dudley. He earns it more than you," she ordered the smaller boy.

"No; the man bought it for me," Harry replied in a small voice.

"Don't you dare..." Petunia began to threaten him, just when Dudley jumped onto Harry trying to grab the book. However, as soon as he touched the cover, the book fought back and jolted Dudley, causing him to land on his bum.

Harry couldn't help chuckling at the wonderful present he had received. '_As soon as I'm back in my cupboard I have to write a message to the kind man_,' he resolved, and no one, not even his uncle, would be able to wipe the smile from his face on that day, the happiest day since that fateful Halloween five years ago.

_

* * *

_

tbc…

_Thanks to my husband for correcting my mistakes. Nevertheless, there might be mistakes left; as you know I'm not a native speaker of English._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chance Meeting at The Ink Pot - by teddylonglong**

**Chapter 2**

Petunia kept Harry busy with chores until late in the evening, as if she wanted to prevent him from reading his book. Uncle Vernon tried, of course, to take his book away from him and even ordered him to throw it into the bin – to no avail. It was nearly nine o'clock when Harry was finally allowed to drag himself back into his cupboard with a red backside and Uncle Vernon's growling voice still in his mind, "I'm going to show you what'll happen to freakish books tomorrow."

'_I hope he won't be able to do any harm to the book_,' Harry thought frantically. '_At least he can't take it from me. If he tries to burn it like he always does with letters he doesn't like, he'll have to try to burn me as well_.'

"Now get finally inside," Petunia scoffed from behind and gave him a slight push, before she shut and locked the door behind him.

'_I must write a thank you note to the man. What was his name? He didn't say anything, but the man at the pay desk said something like 'Customer'. That's probably his name_,' Harry thought and tiredly pulled the book out from under his mattress. '_The Tales of Beedle the Bard_,' Harry read the title, before he finally opened the light blue book. '_Ah, that's probably the paper the man spoke about. He used a strange word for it though. Anyway, I'll try to write on it_.' He quickly fetched a pencil out of his school bag and began to write.

'_Hello Mr. Customer,_

_I'm not sure if thats your name but I think thats what the man in the bookshop sait. Thanks for the book. I havent had time to look at it because Aunt Petunia made me do so many chors. She and Dudley and Uncle Vernon triet to take the book away from me but it always came back and even faught back so that Dudley landed on his bum. I never had so much fun befor. Today was the happiest day of my life. Thank you very much. Good night sir_.'

Harry sighed, relieved that he had finally managed to thank the kind man. He quickly put the pencil back into his school bag and slipped into bed, placing the book under his pillow, just to be sure that nothing could happen to it during the night.

However, he had just drifted off to sleep that was for once filled with happy dreams about bookshops and kind men in black clothes that gave him books, when he woke up to a strange sensation under his head as the book began to vibrate. '_The book_,' he realised, '_it's shaking_.' Frightened, he switched the light on and pulled the book out from under the pillow and opened it with shaking fingers, only to realise that a message had appeared under his own letter.

'_Harry, you're welcome. I'm glad that I met you in The Ink Pot today. The book is one that every child in the magical world knows. I remember that I gave it to your mother for her seventh birthday, which was shortly after I had realised that she was a witch and had told her that I'm a wizard. Don't worry if your aunt calls you names, by the way; she always hated the magical world. When you turn eleven, you'll come here and attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school at which I am a professor. Good night Harry, and contact me again whenever you want_.'

Harry stared at the text in disbelief, before he read it a second, a third and a fourth time. '_Magic?_' he thought, raising his eyebrows. '_Witch? Wizard? Am I dreaming?_' He once more fetched his pencil from his school bag and wrote under the other text.

'_Mr. Customer, I'm not sure about somefing. Is mashic real? Are you really a wizhard and my Mum was a which? Uncle Vernon says there is no such a thing as mashic_.'

Before he could even decide if he should write anything more, an answer appeared under his question.

'_Yes Harry, magic is real. You and I are both wizards. However, a small wizard like you should be long asleep at this time of the night_.'

Harry chuckled. '_Yes sir I was asleep but the book woke me up because it was shaking under my pillow. I don't think anyone will enter my cuppot during the night because it's too small for anyone but me but I wanted to be sure the book is safe so I took it to bed with me. Good night sir_.'

The answer came immediately. '_Your cupboard?_'

Harry eagerly licked his lips and began to compose another reply. '_Yes sir I lif in the cuppot under the stairs. I make sure to keep the book save. I'll take it to school with me_.'

セベルスの見方

Severus stared at the parchment in disbelief, keeping himself from writing back, because it was already two o'clock in the morning and the boy had to sleep. '_They keep him in the cupboard under the stairs? Albus must be completely nuts to make him live with those people,_' he thought in disbelief, resolving to have a confidential discussion with Minerva at the first opportunity.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

In the morning, Harry eagerly slid his book into his jeans pocket. '_I'll read it during lunch break_,' he thought happily, recalling that Mr. Customer had said every child in the magical world knew the book. '_The magical world. I am a wizard_,' Harry mused, his emotions wavering between amazement and disbelief. '_Is that really true, or did I only dream about reading things in the book?_' He quickly pulled the book out of his pocket and opened the cover, sighing in relief as he noticed that his nightly conversation with the kind man, the wizard, had really taken place.

At lunchtime, when his classmates began to eat their lunch packets, Harry pulled his book out and engrossed himself in his reading, unaware of the fact that the teacher was observing him with interest as a small smile began to play on his lips.

"May I ask what you're reading, Harry?" the teacher asked softly, already used to the fact that Harry never brought anything to eat with him. "Oh, '_The Little Prince'_. That's one of my favourite books too. I'd love to hear from you what you liked most when you're through with it."

"Okay," Harry replied in a small voice and anxiously averted his eyes to the floor, following the shoelace of his left shoe with his eyes as he frantically pondered how he could manage to read the book as it appeared for the non magical people. '_I'll ask the Customer tonight. Maybe he knows a way how I can read it_,' he resolved and returned to his reading in determination.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Unfortunately, his relatives didn't take the thought of having an obviously magical book in their household too well. As soon as Vernon came home from work, he turned to Harry and hissed in a menacing voice, "Fetch your book, you good for nothing freak."

"Yes sir," Harry replied in a small voice and anxiously went to fetch the book, suddenly remembering that the teacher had told them to pray if there was something they wanted to ask for. '_To whom did she say?_' he tried to recall, and, lacking a better idea, he silently prayed, '_Dear Father Christmas, please help me to keep my book safe_.' As he followed his uncle into the living room, he resolved to ask Mr. Customer if there was any way he could contact him in case something happened to his treasure.

Vernon suddenly grabbed the book from Harry's hands and threw it forcefully into the fireplace. Harry stood there in shock, observing in disbelief how the flames engulfed the most valuable thing he had ever possessed. However, an instant later, the book returned and was back in his hands before he could even see it coming. '_Ouch, that hurt_,' he thought and incredulously looked at the book, realising that the right lower corner had been slightly burned, and his right hand that had touched the spot had become a bit sore. A small tear made its way over Harry's cheek, and he hurriedly wiped it away, glad that his book had made it back to him relatively unharmed.

"You ungrateful freak! Don't let me ever see that freakish book again!" Vernon shouted enraged and tried to kick Harry, who raced back into his cupboard, sighing in relief as he heard the lock being shut, knowing that he and his book were safe for the moment.

Harry settled down on his bed, pulled his pencil out of the school bag and began to write into the book.

'_Hello Mr. Customer,_

_I need to ask you a few things. I read my book at school during lunch breik and my teacher told me I had to tell her which part I liked most. Is it possible for me to read the Little Prince story as well? And is there a way how I can contact you if somefing hapens to my book? Uncle Vernon was very angry and __the__ thru it into the fire but it came out only a bit burnt. _

_Yours sincerely_

_Harry_.'

Harry waited for a few minutes, but no reply came, and he finally went to bed, feeling very disappointed. '_Maybe he'll reply later on_,' he thought and once again placed the book under his pillow, jumping up in delight as the book suddenly began to vibrate.

'_Dear Harry,'_ the newest entry began,

'_First of all, I'm going to attach the book 'The Little Prince' here to your parchment. Your parchment is going to add new pages as we continue to write, and it'll make enough new space for the book to fit in. Don't worry though; your book won't become thicker and no one will notice. The book has seventy-six pages, and I read it first when I was about your age. I loved it very much; that's why I still have it here._

_Secondly, I'd like to ask you to write something on your parchment every evening. If you don't have much time, a small 'Hello' will suffice. That way, I know that you and your book are all right. If I don't hear from you for more than two nights, I'll come and check on you._

_Are you sure that you weren't injured when your uncle threw the book into the fire? Please tell me if you are in pain. _

_By the way, my name is Severus._

_Good night, Harry. SS_'

Harry sighed happily. Never before had he felt so cared for. '_It only stings a bit; it's not bad enough to tell him. Otherwise, he'd think I'm whiny, and it hurts a bit to hold the pencil. I'll just go back to bed_,' he mused, yawning.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

During the following days, Severus and Harry continued their daily conversation, and Severus had to admit to himself that it felt good to take care of Lily's small boy, even if it was only through a few sentences each evening.

On Christmas Eve, Harry's message arrived much earlier than normal.

'_Dear Severus, today I'm back in my cuppot early cause I finished all Chrismis cooking for the Durseys. I finished both books and I love them. I'll read them again cause I have 3 free days in my cuppot while they have their Chrismis. Bye now, Harry_.'

Severus read the three lines over and over again. '_Does that mean they leave Harry in his cupboard for three days, while they're celebrating Christmas?_' he thought in disbelief. When he glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece, noticing that it was already dinnertime, he jumped up in shock, realising that he had spent a whole hour mulling over the boy's few lines. '_I wonder if they at least give him a present_,' he thought, when all of a sudden the conversation he had witnessed at The Ink Pot came to mind.

'_I'll reply straight after dinner. If he likes reading so much, I'll attach another book to my parchment; maybe a Potions book_,' he thought, smirking as he strode through the empty halls of the castle that seemed to have gone into hibernation. He absentmindedly took his seat at the Head table, deeply engrossed in his thoughts.

"Severus, are you feeling all right?" said a voice, bringing him back to reality, and he felt a warm hand cover his own in a gentle touch.

"Of course." His reply came automatically as he looked up straight into the green eyes of his colleague and good friend, Minerva. "What makes you believe that I wasn't?" he queried, raising an eyebrow at the older witch.

Before the Scottish lioness could even think of an adequate reply, Poppy uttered, "Maybe because you've been staring into space for a few minutes without touching your meal. What makes you so absentminded on this peaceful Christmas Eve? Are you missing our lovely students, Severus?"

Severus rolled his eyes, before he took a deep breath, determined to share his thoughts with the two witches. "Let's have tea together in my quarters afterwards," he mumbled, before he proceeded to spoon a few peas into his mouth, ignoring the concerned looks Minerva and Poppy exchanged.

He was about to leave the Great Hall, when the Headmaster called him back. "Severus, don't forget that it's Christmas day tomorrow. Please dine with us for breakfast and Christmas dinner."

"Very well," Severus replied, inwardly groaning as he strode back to the dungeons. He fetched the parchment with Harry's letters from his office and settled down in his favourite armchair in front of the fireplace in his living room. Letting his eyes wander over the mahogany bookshelves that covered the walls around his living room from the floor to the ceiling, he pondered which book he should send the child for Christmas.

A knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts, and he waved his wand to let his colleagues in. Minerva and Poppy made themselves comfortable on the leather sofa right next to his seat.

"Cicero!" Severus called his personal house-elf and ordered tea for the three of them, before he began to speak in his soft baritone voice, explaining to the two witches how he had met Harry together with his aunt and his cousin at The Ink Pot.

"You had the chance to speak with him?" Minerva let out a gasp.

"No Minerva; I merely communicated with him telepathically," Severus corrected her softly. "However, I bought a book for him and attached a parchment for a secure wiz2wiz connection, for which I have the master parchment."

"You're using a wiz2wiz connection with Harry?" Minerva queried and her eyes began to shine in excitement.

"Yes, we have been using this connection daily during the last week," Severus replied, smirking as he laid the parchment on the table for his colleagues to read.

The two witches eagerly began to read through Severus' messages with Harry. Minerva began to chuckle after the first letter. "He is so cute, just like he was as a baby!"

Poppy however frowned. "He is cute and he must be very intelligent, considering how well he writes. However, I'm concerned at how much he writes in one go. This first letter is extremely long for a six-year-old, and I'm afraid that he is forced to do chores that take much longer than the normal attention span of a child of his age."

Severus nodded grimly. "Unfortunately, I have to agree with your assessment, but maybe you should read on first."

"I can't believe it," Minerva blurted out. "He got so soaked that his book, which was in the pocket of his jeans jacket, became wet? Why did he have to walk when his cousin was taken to school by car?"

"And why was he wearing a jeans jacket in winter? It's much too cold," Poppy added in an equally upset voice.

Severus leaned back in his seat and patiently waited for the next outburst that was sure to come.

"Harry has to do the Christmas cooking for the Dursleys, and then they lock him into his cupboard?" Minerva asked in disbelief. "The poor child. Let's at least hope they'll love him enough to get him a Christmas present."

"I'm afraid not," Severus replied, quickly repeating the conversation he had witnessed at The Ink Pot. "I am planning to send the boy a book though. I just haven't decided on a title."

"Through your wiz2wiz connection you mean?" Minerva queried thoughtfully. "Why don't you send him a copy of the booklet you always give to your Muggle first-years? I can imagine that it would be of great interest to Harry."

"I believe that's a brilliant idea, Severus," Poppy said warmly, "and considering that it was written by you, it's also a rather personal present."

Severus let out a long sigh. "Both of you should know by now that it's only for Slytherin students. I have no idea ..."

All of a sudden, he was interrupted when the fireplace flared green, and the Headmaster stepped out. "I'm sorry to intrude, my boy," he apologized, before he looked around, taking in that three members of his staff were sitting together, completely engrossed in some kind of parchments. "Excuse me, am I missing something?" he queried in a gentle voice, causing Severus to groan inwardly.

_

* * *

_

tbc…

_You can find a story graphic on my Yahoo newsgroup page!_

_Thank you so much for your many kind reviews! I really appreciate them, and my muse feeds from them!_

_Thanks to __my husband for correcting my mistakes. Nevertheless, there might be mistakes left; as you know I'm not a native speaker of English._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chance Meeting at The Ink Pot - by teddylonglong**

**Chapter 3**

Minerva unobtrusively transfigured the parchment into a handwritten potions recipe, before she quickly explained, "Oh sorry Albus, we were planning to play a prank on the students."

"In order to make another, certainly useless, attempt at achieving a certain degree of understanding between the Houses," Severus supplied, sounding extremely bored.

"Oh, what a wonderful idea," the Headmaster said appraisingly, slowly unwrapping a lemon drop that made him remember the reason for his visit. "Ah, Severus, I was wondering if you could brew a batch of lemon drops for me. Fawkes must have hidden all my remaining drops. I can't find a single one except for the small stock in my robe pocket."

"Yes, I'll brew a batch for you later tonight," Severus replied calmly, inwardly sighing in annoyance, while his female colleagues chuckled with amusement.

"Very well, thank you Severus. I'll be on my way then and won't disturb you any longer." With that the Headmaster stepped back into the fireplace and vanished in the flames.

"Well, Severus, I believe it's time for us to leave as well. I'm sure Harry will be eagerly awaiting your response by now," Minerva said gently. "Please keep us informed about his progress."

"I'll do that, and you're right. I'll send him my booklet," Severus replied thoughtfully. "Thank you for being on Harry's and my side in this matter, Minerva and Poppy."

The Mediwitch let out a long sigh. "Severus, I must tell you something. I am of course on your side; however, if we ever get information about the boy being abused other than verbally, I have to report the matter to the Ministry of Magic. It's my obligation as a Healer, if Albus likes it or not."

"I fully agree," Severus replied sincerely. "I do not intend to leave the boy in an abusive home if there is any evidence that goes beyond the verbal abuse he is already enduring."

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

During the following months, Severus and Harry continued their daily conversations through the wiz2wiz connection, and Severus showed Harry's letters to his two colleagues on a regular basis. He provided Harry with books about various topics of the magical world, and Harry spent every free minute eagerly reading what Severus sent him.

Harry slowly became used to having someone who cared about him, and little by little he began to open up and tell the man when something special or strange happened at home or at school. However, he was always very careful not to sound too whiny, knowing from his aunt's words that he was enough of a nuisance as he was, even if he didn't complain about anything.

One day in spring, he wrote an excited letter into his book.

'_Dear Severus,_

_Today somefing very strange happened. Dudley and his friends tryed to take my book away. They don't understand that they can't. Dudley is a bit stoopid anyway because I aways have to do my tests badly in order not to be beter than him. Anyway I ran away from them and sudenly I was on the roof of the school. I don't know how I got there. Do you think that was magic? My relatives were very angry and scolded me for doing freky things as they call it._

_Yours Harry_'

A few minutes later, an answer arrived.

'_Dear Harry,_

_Yes, that was magic. You must be a very powerful wizard if you managed to apparate onto the roof. Well done. Nevertheless, you should be careful to not let other children anger you enough to do such strong magic, because you might hurt yourself or others._

_Why do you have to do your tests badly? You should do them as well as you can. It's no problem if you're better than your cousin, or do your relatives give you a hard time about it then?_

_Take care, SS_.'

Harry sighed. '_Of course he can't understand that_,' he mused. However, knowing that he could trust the nice wizard, he decided to explain the matter to him.

'_Sir, I can't be beter than Dudley in anything, because my aunt and uncle told me to not be beter than him if I new what was good for me. But it's all right because I now that I'm not as stoopid as him, and you know that too, don't you, sir?_

_Oh, I have a question. Is moon fern and moan fern the same or is it somefing different?_

_I love the book. Harry_.'

Harry loved all the books Severus sent him. Most of them were easy introductions to the magical world as well as novels written by magical as well as Muggle authors. However, after Harry had read the introductory books, he begged him for more books about the magical world, and Severus sent him _Hogwarts: A History_, followed by the first year Potions book as well as an easy introduction to magical potions ingredients. By the beginning of the summer holidays, he had already read most of the books the Hogwarts students had to read in their first year, and the professor apparently decided he needed a break and sent him an introductory book on Quidditch.

'_It must be much fun to fly on a broom_,' Harry mused, pondering if he should try it out on one of Petunia's broomsticks. '_I have to wait until it's dark though_,' he thought, but decided to ask the professor beforehand if it would be possible to fly on any kind of broom.

'_No Harry; it might be possible, but it would be very dangerous at the same time. Please do not do such a thing. In four years' time, you're going to come to Hogwarts, and then you'll be allowed to fly as much as you want_,' the professor replied immediately.

'_All right; I promise that I won't try_,' Harry replied, not wanting to make the professor regret that he had sent him such an interesting book.

'_Magic is just fantastic_,' he mused, looking at his book that still had the same size as it had when Severus had bought it for him, although it already contained at least thirty books, which he had read during the last six months.

One day during the summer holidays, he just returned to his cupboard from making breakfast, when his book began to vibrate. Harry happily opened it and looked at the new message.

'_Happy Birthday Harry_,' it read.

'_We'll talk again tonight; I just wanted to wish you all the best and attach my present. It's just a book for fun reading about a little boy, who wants to become a Potions Master and has to undergo a lot of funny mishaps on his way. I liked it very much when I was your age. _

_Enjoy your birthday. SS_.'

'_Birthday?_' Harry mused in surprise. '_I don't have a birthday_.' However, the professor's message refused to be pushed from the front of his mind, and while he prepared dinner, Harry decided to ask his aunt.

"Aunt Petunia," he asked hesitantly, leaving his eyes firmly on the pot he was using to boil carrots, "do I have a birthday like every other child?"

"Why would you? Freaks don't have birthdays," his aunt scoffed and immediately told her husband about the matter when he chose that moment to enter the kitchen.

From the corners of his eyes, Harry could see that his uncle's cheeks turned into a deeply red tone, and Vernon approached him, pulling him by the ears. "You ungrateful little urchin. Is it not enough that we took you in and feed and clothe you out of the goodness of our hearts? You. Are. A. Freak!"

With every word Harry could feel the man's huge fists on his cheeks.

"And freaks don't have any special days, nor do they earn presents. Do you understand me?" Vernon roared, forcefully pushing Harry out into the garden. "Paint the fence and earn your keep, you good for nothing urchin."

It was nearly midnight when Harry returned to his cupboard, and he was completely exhausted. '_I have to ask Severus about this birthday thing_,' he mused, '_however, my face hurts where Uncle Vernon hit me earlier. I'll just go to bed. I can still ask him tomorrow_.' With that he placed his book under his pillow as usual and lay down.

When Harry woke up in the morning, his cheeks along with his eyes felt strangely swollen, and he could hardly see anything. When his aunt saw him, she sent him back into the cupboard, afraid that the neighbours could see Harry and begin to ask questions.

'_Thank God_,' Harry mused, not feeling up to anything but lying in bed and closing his achy eyes. A few hours later, he noticed his book vibrate; apparently, there were several new messages; however, his eyes were so swollen that he couldn't read them. '_What am I going to do? I can't write like this_,' he thought, slightly beginning to panic.

All of a sudden, Severus began to think to him. 'Harry, I'm a bit worried, because you didn't reply to my messages last night and today. Is everything all right? If you can, please write an answer on your parchment; otherwise, I'll come and check on you during the night.'

'_Oh no, I can't have him come to check on me. That would be too much of a bother_,' Harry mused, terrified, and fetched his pencil.

'_Severus_,' he wrote,

'_I'm sory for not writing, but my eyes are swolen and I can't see where I'm writig. I'm alright thou. I write again tomorow. Harry_.'

'Harry,' he once more heard the professor's voice in his head, 'I'll come to check on you tonight. Don't wait for me; just go to bed. I'll wake you up during the night.'

A happy smile played on Harry's lips as he went to bed that evening. Although his eyes were still sore and he could hardly see anything, he knew that there was someone who cared for him and that person was coming to see him during the night.

Severus let out a long sigh. He had already been concerned when Harry didn't send a message the previous evening; however, his two female colleagues had drivelled on about the Dursleys having a birthday party for the child. '_I better inform them in advance_,' he thought, '_it's time to head to the Great Hall for dinner anyway_.'

After dinner, McGonagall and Pomfrey accompanied Severus to his quarters, and the three friends spent the following two hours discussing Harry and what could have happened to him.

"Shall I accompany you?" McGonagall offered gently, knowing that her younger colleague was not feeling well at the thought of breaking into the Muggles' residence.

"I'm coming too," Pomfrey announced. "Maybe he'll need my help."

Severus rolled his eyes. "I appreciate your offers, but do you expect me to ring the bell and ask the Dursleys nicely to let me in?" he sneered. "I'm going to transform into my snake form and enter the house through some kind of opening I'm sure to find in the wall. How would you be able to enter the house in your cat and bird forms? If we go in as three persons, we can be sure the Dursleys will wake up."

"Very well, then we're going to wait out in the garden," McGonagall said in determination. "When are we going to leave?"

"At midnight?" Severus suggested, knowing that he wasn't able to prevent the two eager witches from travelling together with him.

In the middle of the night, the three colleagues walked down to the Apparition border, from where they apparated into a corner of Mrs. Figg's garden.

"We better turn into our Animagus forms right away," Severus suggested and changed into a black snake with a beautiful green pattern on his back. Followed by a tabby cat and a dove, he made his way to the Dursleys' residence that looked as peacefully asleep as all the other houses of the seemingly boring neighbourhood.

The three animals entered the garden, and while the cat jumped onto a wall and the dove made herself comfortable on the nearby tree, Severus searched the exterior walls of the house for an opening that was large enough for him to enter. Under the watchful eyes of his colleagues, he slithered into the wall, ending up in what seemed to be the Dursleys' living room.

Severus transformed back into his human form in order to be able to open the door, noticing from the corner of his eyes that the room was decorated with hundreds of pictures of the horrible boy he had observed in the bookshop seven months ago. Casting an invisibility charm on himself, Severus stepped out into the hall, taking in the locks at the outside of the cupboard under the stairs with disgust.

"Alohomora." The whispered spell coaxed the door into opening, revealing a small, dark space to the tall wizard, who crouched down to enter the tiniest room in the house on his knees. Casting a Lumos charm, Severus looked over to the small mattress, taking in the boy's swollen cheeks and eyes in shock. '_What have they done to the child?_' he thought, terrified, as he cancelled the invisibility charm and proceeded to wake the boy.

"Harry," Severus whispered, gently shaking Harry's shoulder, noticing that the boy flinched back badly at his soft touch. "Harry, it's all right; it's me, Severus," he said soothingly, causing the child to open his eyes just the little bit he was able to, before he hurriedly brought himself into a sitting position.

"Harry, what happened to your eyes?" Severus queried, crouching on the floor next to Harry.

Harry mumbled something incomprehensible, causing Severus to sigh. "Harry, I'll probably be able to help you. However, in order to give you the appropriate potion, I need to know what exactly happened."

"My uncle," Harry whispered, anxiously glancing in the direction of the door. "He was angry when I asked if I had a birthday like every normal child."

"And he beat you?" Severus enquired, looking closely at Harry's eyes.

"Yes," the child whispered in a barely audible voice.

The professor pulled a small phial out of his robe pocket and handed it to Harry. "Harry, this won't be delicious, but it'll help. Don't dwell on the taste; just swallow," he advised the boy, who obediently emptied the phial, shuddering at the foul taste.

Severus observed contentedly, how the boy seemingly relaxed as the swelling in his face slowly receded. He took the phial back, feverishly pondering what to do. _'I don't want to leave the child in this abusive home_,' he thought. '_On the other hand, I can't simply take him with me. Albus would be angry enough to throw me into Azkaban._'

"Thank you so much sir," Harry pulled him out of his stupor. "That was amazing. I feel as if nothing has happened at all."

"Potions are indeed amazing," Severus agreed, smiling. "I'm glad I could help you, Harry. Now, tell me one thing," he continued in a much sterner voice. "Does your uncle often beat you?"

"No," Harry replied quietly, "only if he becomes very annoyed, for example if I do accidental magic or such."

Severus let out a long sigh and explained that he'd love to take Harry with him, but that he had to convince the Headmaster first. "If I take you away against his wishes, everything will become worse than it is now, because I won't be able to help you anymore," he sadly finished his explanation.

"It's all right, sir," Harry replied softly. "I fully understand, and I'd be more than happy to go to Hogwarts with you, but since I know that it's only four more years until I'll be able to leave, it's not so bad anymore. Thank you very much for helping me, sir."

"I wished I could help more," Severus sighed. "Promise me that you tell me immediately if you're hurt, sick or just sad. I can come here during the night whenever you need me. Now go back to sleep; we'll talk again tomorrow."

"Thank you," Harry replied gratefully, and Severus watched how the boy lay down, his eyes closed as soon as his head hit the pillow and how he drifted off to sleep with a small smile playing on his lips.

Severus gently tucked the child in and slowly left the cupboard, deep in thought.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

The three colleagues returned to Hogwarts, and after getting a few hours of sleep, they met again in Severus' quarters to discuss the small boy's situation. Minerva and Poppy agreed that Severus should better not openly oppose the Headmaster, but that they had to take the child away from his abusive home as soon as possible.

"I suggest that Poppy and I speak with Albus," Minerva spoke up thoughtfully. "We'll tell him that I spent some time on the wall next to the Dursleys' house and observed him, noticing that he was being beaten by his uncle."

"If I threaten to report the Dursleys to the Ministry because of child abuse, Albus has to agree to take him away from there; otherwise, he could be accused of tolerating child abuse," Poppy threw in.

"Well, then I'll just stay out of the discussion for the moment. Please come back and inform me of his reaction right afterwards," Severus decided, raising an eyebrow at his colleagues.

None of them expected the Headmaster to respond in the way he did after hearing Minerva's story. For once, not even his eyes were twinkling, when he said in a very angry voice, "I forbid everyone to interfere in Harry Potter's matters. If I hear that anyone entered the Dursleys' residence again to check on the boy, watch him or take him away, that person will not only be fired from Hogwarts in case of a teacher, but reported to the Ministry for endangering the magical world. Did I make myself clear?" he asked in a no-nonsense voice. "You're dismissed. I have work to do."

_

* * *

_

tbc...

_Thank you so much for your many kind comments that inspired my muse to continue with this story so fast. Of course, I neither agree with Dumbledore, nor do I support child abuse..._

_Thanks to __my husband for correcting my mistakes. Nevertheless, there might be mistakes left; as you know I'm not a native speaker of English._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Minerva and Poppy quietly left the Headmaster's office and returned to Severus' quarters. Severus noticed immediately that his two colleagues were absolutely furious.

"What happened?" he asked softly, prompting the two witches to inform him of their conversation with Dumbledore.

"Very well then," Severus said thoughtfully, unconsciously playing with the cork of a phial in his robe pocket, "at least we know exactly how he is going to react if someone takes Harry from the Dursleys'. I suggest that we merely watch Harry for the time being. I'm communicating with him every day, and if something else happens, I'll take him away in a flash without caring about Albus' reactions. However, maybe we'll still have some time, and in the meantime, I'm going to attend as many Potions congresses as I can in order to get to know people from other schools, where I could possibly transfer if I needed to get away from Albus for Harry's sake."

"We don't want to lose you, Severus," Minerva said, sounding very upset. "Maybe we'll find another way to hide Harry here at Hogwarts. We'll think about the matter. Thank God it doesn't seem to be all too urgent if Harry said that his uncle normally doesn't beat him."

"Don't worry, Minerva; I already have an idea, and I promise to keep the two of you informed," Severus said soothingly.

During the following months, Severus and Harry continued to communicate every evening through their wiz2wiz connection. At the same time, Severus used every opportunity to give lectures about his new inventions at Potions congresses or to simply attended conferences in order to make contacts outside of Hogwarts.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Harry enjoyed his conversations with the professor very much. It seemed as if his life had completely changed for the better since that day when they had accidentally met at The Ink Pot. It was not only that Severus continued to send him interesting books whenever Harry told him that he had finished reading the previous book. Severus also talked with him about what he had read and willingly answered all questions that Harry remembered to ask.

Unbeknownst to Harry, all the reading and writing had improved his writing and reading skills immensely, and since Severus told him over and over that he didn't have to hold back at school in order to receive worse marks than Dudley, Harry managed to achieve best marks on his tests that took place shortly before the Christmas holidays.

A few days before the beginning of the holidays, the teacher asked the Dursleys to come for a talk on the last day of school. On Petunia's anxious question if it was something to worry about, the teacher merely replied that she wanted to talk about something extremely positive.

"Vernon, I'm so excited. What can be so positive? Maybe Dudley has been chosen for something special. Oh, I'm so proud of my little cutie."

"Yes son, you are performing excellently," Vernon agreed, proudly slapping his hand on Dudley's shoulder.

"May I come with you?" Dudley asked excitedly, causing his parents to nod eagerly.

"Of course, sweetie," Petunia said softly.

However, when the Dursleys met the teacher, expecting to hear good news about their son, they noticed soon that the conversation centred around Harry, their unwanted nephew and freak.

"Harry has been doing so well in class and his tests, and he seems to be so advanced that we have decided to move him up a year," the teacher informed them, smiling proudly at Harry, who was sitting as far away from the others as possible. "We also think that it would be better to separate him from Dudley, since Dudley seems to be very jealous of Harry, because he is top of the class in all subjects."

"We don't care what you do with the freak. However, we appreciate it if you separate him from our Dudley, so that Dudley can finally study in peace and show his true abilities," Vernon roared and stood up from his seat, pulling Petunia and Dudley out of the room.

By the time Harry arrived home, Vernon had whipped himself into a rage. "Stay out of our house, you freak," he shouted at Harry, pushing him out of the kitchen door into the snow.

Harry slowly let himself sink to the ground, leaning against the wall. '_It's so cold, and I don't have my book with me_,' he mused. '_Otherwise, I could ask Severus to come and let me in_.'

It was very late in the evening when Petunia opened the kitchen door and whispered, "Uncle Vernon is asleep now. Come in, but be quiet. I'll have to throw you out again, before he wakes up in the morning."

"Thank you, Aunt Petunia," Harry replied, shivering violently in the cold winter air. He hurried back into his cupboard and quickly wrote into his book to proudly tell Severus about the good marks he had received.

Unfortunately, he had caught a bad cold due to being outside in the snow in his thin jeans jacket. However, as usual, his aunt decided to ignore his health issues completely and made him cook all the meals they would eat on Christmas, while Vernon and Dudley chose to ignore him completely.

It was at lunchtime on Christmas Eve that Harry finished all his chores and was locked into his cupboard for the holidays. In the meantime, his cold had worsened so much that Harry wanted nothing but to lie down and be left in peace. He quickly scribbled a note for Severus, just to let the professor know that he probably wouldn't write anything that evening.

'_Severus, sorry, I can't write much today. I'm a bit sick. Happy Christmas. Harry_.'

With that he lay down on his mattress, curling up under his covers. He was just drifting off into an exhausted sleep, when he heard Severus' voice in his mind.

'_Harry, hold on and try to rest if you can; I'll come and check on you during the night_.'

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Severus sighed as he read Harry's note that was written in unusually untidy handwriting. In order to not aggravate the boy's condition further, he refrained from writing back and instead contacted him telepathically, before he remained in deep thought for a few minutes. Finally, he waved his wand over the huge piles of parchments on his desk, changing them into one small pile that fit into his robe pocket. Placing the master parchment for the wiz2wiz connection into another robe pocket, he stepped into his private quarters and leaned into the fireplace.

"Headmaster, I wish to spend the remaining of the holidays in my ancestors' home," he informed Dumbledore.

"Very well my boy. Would you be willing to return at least for Christmas dinner?" the Headmaster asked gently, giving him an intense look from his baby blue eyes.

"Very well," Severus agreed. "The Manor is heavily warded, but in case you need to urgently contact me, Cicero will be able to relay a message."

The Headmaster agreed, and Severus quickly pulled out of the fireplace and took the Floo to Minerva's office.

"Hello Severus. What brings you here?" Minerva asked in surprise, and Severus noticed that her expression was a mixture of curiosity and concern. "Did something happen to Harry?"

"He is sick. I don't know what's wrong, but I intend to check on him tonight. In case I need to look after him during the following nights too, I decided to spend the rest of the holidays at Prince Manor. I already informed Albus." He pulled his master parchment out of his robe pocket and waved his wand over it in an intricate motion, causing the master parchment to split into two parts. Pointing his wand at the second part, he produced another parchment, which he handed to Minerva.

"Here. This is a new wiz2wiz connection. This way, we'll be able to communicate quickly and securely. No one except for you will be able to read it. I'll contact you tonight when I'm back at Prince Manor. Do you know how to contact Poppy in case I need her expertise?"

"I can contact Poppy through the Floo at any time. She is spending the holidays with her sister," Minerva said thoughtfully. "Shall I accompany you tonight?"

"No," Severus said firmly. "Albus doesn't suspect me of having anything to do with Harry, and he is not aware of the fact that I'm an Animagus, but you can't let yourself be seen at the Dursleys' residence, and your feline form is well-known throughout the magical world." With that he excused himself and stepped into the fireplace to take the Floo to his office at Prince Manor. He turned around and waved his wand at the fireplace, uttering an incantation that shut the fireplace off completely with a few exceptions, so that it would only allow Minerva, Poppy and himself in.

"Cicero," he called his personal house-elf, who popped over from Hogwarts, eyeing him in surprise.

"I didn't know that Master Severus intended to come to the Manor," he said apologetically.

"It was not planned," Severus replied, sighing, and explained everything about little Harry to the elf, knowing that he could trust him completely.

During the rest of the day, Severus remained in his office, trying in vain to concentrate on the parchments in front of him. '_I better go and brew a few potions_,' he finally decided and headed to his potions lab in order to distract himself from the small boy that was probably waiting for him to come.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Considering that it was Christmas Eve, Severus decided to wait until two o'clock in the morning, before he apparated to Little Whinging. As before, he entered the Dursleys' residence in his Animagus form and invisibly made his way into the child's cupboard. Casting the Lumos charm, he noticed that Harry was completely entangled in his covers. His cheeks were feverishly flushed, and his hair was stuck to his sweaty forehead. Dark rings were surrounding the boy's eyes, and his breathing sounded laboured. Severus carefully laid his hand on the boy's forehead that felt extremely hot to touch.

'_That's not a simple cold, which I can heal with a Pepperup potion. He needs Poppy to check on him_,' he realised, pondering what to do for a few minutes, before he made a decision. He waved his wand over Harry, casting a complicated charm that produced an exact copy of the boy. '_That'll last for at least a few weeks or even months_,' he thought as he gently scooped Harry onto his arms as well as he could in the small space, before he apparated away without even bothering to leave the house first.

Back at Prince Manor, he carried Harry into his own old bedroom, which he had vacated when he moved into the Master bedroom after the death of his mother. He gently laid the child on the bed, causing Harry to stir at the loss of his body warmth.

"Hello Harry; everything is all right. I took you with me to my home," Severus quickly filled him in to prevent him from panicking as he carefully tucked him in.

"Cicero," he called the elf in a small voice as to not frighten Harry, who had already gone back to sleep.

"Yes, Master Severus?" the elf enquired quietly, throwing the small boy a concerned look.

"Please go and fetch Poppy. Tell her that Harry is very ill and needs her. The Floo is already opened for her to come through."

"Yes Master Severus," Cicero replied quickly and popped away.

A few minutes later, Cicero led Poppy into the room. The Healer sleepily greeted Severus but became fully awake as she caught sight of Harry. She waved her wand over the boy and shook her head in annoyance as she put her wand back into her dressing gown.

"I'm sorry for calling you out of your holidays, especially at this time of the night," Severus said in his soft, baritone voice, causing Poppy to sigh.

"No Severus, that doesn't matter, and it was good that you called me. Harry has pneumonia coming on, probably caused by neglecting a cold. Do you have any stock here, or shall I fetch a few doses of the pneumonia potion from Hogwarts?"

"Master Severus, shall I go and fetch the potion?" Cicero offered, causing Severus to cast him a grateful look when he popped back an instant later, placing several phials on the night table.

While the Healer spelled the potion into the boy's system, Cicero spoke up hesitantly. "Master Severus, Mistress Poppy, could I perhaps ask Misty to spend a few days here with us?" Seeing that the two humans threw him surprised looks, he elaborated, "Misty told me that Mistress Poppy has allowed her to be on holidays, and she is not only Mistress Poppy's elf but also the Healer of all elves, and she is very good. Normally, she doesn't heal humans, because Mistress Poppy is doing this, but she could help us keep an eye on the boy, so that Mistress Poppy wouldn't have to come and check on him continuously."

Severus and Poppy exchanged an astonished glance, before Poppy said kindly, "Cicero, I don't mind Misty spending time here with Severus and you, if she agrees to do so. Please tell her to fetch me whenever I'm needed and keep me updated on Harry's condition. The same goes for you of course, Severus. I'll come over again tonight in any case."

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Harry blinked, noticing immediately that he felt much better than before. '_Severus was with me, or was that a dream_?' he mused, slowly opening his eyes to take in his surroundings with amazement. '_I'm not in my cupboard. I'm in a huge room. It's so nice and bright, and it even has a window. Where am I_?'

All of a sudden, Severus stepped into the room, alerted by a ward he had placed on the child telling him that Harry had woken up. "Good morning, Harry," he said softly, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Harry replied gratefully. "Thank you, sir. Where are we, by the way? Did you take me away from the Dursleys?"

Severus let out a long sigh. "Your condition was too bad to leave you with your relatives. Did your aunt never give you anything for your cold?"

"No," Harry replied softly, shyly averting his eyes to his covers.

"You should have told me much earlier; then it wouldn't have become so bad," Severus said softly, giving the child a piercing look.

"I didn't want to bother you, sir," Harry replied in a barely audible voice.

"I already told you so many times that you aren't bothering me, Harry. From now on, you will tell me if anything is wrong; do you understand me?"

"Yes sir."

"Now, what do you want to eat for breakfast? Would you like some soup, or do you prefer toast?"

"Anything would be fine; I'm not very hungry though," Harry said softly.

"Cicero," Severus called, and to Harry's huge surprise a tall creature with long ears appeared in front of them.

"Good morning, Master Severus, Master Harry," Cicero said in a friendly voice, smiling at him.

"Harry, this is Cicero, my personal elf. He is staying here together with us over the holidays," Severus explained patiently, before he turned to Cicero and asked for breakfast, which to Harry's surprise popped up on the night table only an instant later.

After breakfast, Cicero popped in together with Misty and introduced Misty to Harry, before she checked on him and made him drink a potion, causing him to fall asleep again. Harry spent most of the day asleep, engulfed in a peaceful slumber without any nightmares about his uncle becoming angry at him.

When he woke up in the early evening, Severus was sitting on the edge of his bed reading a Potions journal.

"Hello Harry, how are you feeling?" the professor asked softly.

"Much better," Harry replied, staring at the Christmas tree at the other side of the room in amazement.

"Today is Christmas day," Severus informed him, smiling. "Shall we see if there are any presents for you?"

Harry paled at the man's words. "I never receive presents, sir," he said in a barely audible voice, anxiously rubbing his hands under his bed covers.

"No? Are you sure?" Severus smirked. "Well, I'm fairly certain that I saw at least one or two presents with your name on them." He pointed his wand at a huge present under the tree that was wrapped in dark green paper with twinkling silver stars on it. The present slowly hovered straight into Severus' arm. He handed it to Harry, who accepted the present with an expression of absolute disbelief that turned into delight when Severus helped him to open it, revealing a Lego Hogwarts Express train set.

"I had a Lego train set when I was your age, and I loved it," Severus admitted. "It was my favourite toy apart from my child's brewing kit."

Harry also received a brewing kit for children as well as a child's broom, which Minerva and Poppy had bought for him. '_Why?_' Harry thought in surprise as he lay back in exhaustion, admiring the first presents he had ever received. '_Why do I all of a sudden receive presents for Christmas? Father Christmas never brought me anything before_.'

"Harry, I'm afraid I'll have to leave for Christmas dinner at Hogwarts soon," Severus said softly, bringing Harry out of his stupor. "Will you be all right for a short while? Cicero and Misty will be here, and they can fetch me whenever you need me."

"No problem, sir," Harry replied softly, tiredly closing his eyes.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Christmas dinner was an uneventful affair, and Severus was glad when he was able to return to Prince Manor. Minerva and Poppy followed him to discuss what to do with Harry.

"There is only one thing you can do, Severus," Minerva said thoughtfully. "And you have to do it before school commences again next week."

_

* * *

_

tbc...

On my Yahoo newsgroup page you can find a poll concerning this story. Thanks to the readers who already participated!

_Thanks to __my husband for correcting my mistakes._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"And what might that be?" Severus queried, raising an eyebrow at his older colleague.

"You must blood adopt him, Severus. That's the only way to hide him from Albus and take him to Hogwarts," Minerva said softly. "You must pretend that he is your son."

Suddenly, Cicero entered the room. "Master Severus, Master Harry is having a nightmare."

Minerva and Poppy quietly followed Severus into Harry's room and observed in amazement as their younger colleague sat on the edge of the boy's bed and gently shook his shoulder, whispering, "It's all right, Harry. You're not at your relatives' anymore. You're here with me, safe and sound. No one can hurt you here."

Harry finally stirred, calming down immediately as he saw Severus leaning over him. "I'm sorry," he mumbled sleepily, still shaken by the scene he had just witnessed.

"You don't have to be sorry, child. Will you tell me what your nightmare was about?" Severus asked in his soft, silky voice, while his hand soothingly remained on Harry's shoulder.

Harry hesitantly told him how his uncle had thrown the first Christmas presents he had ever received into the fire. "I know that it's not true and that I'm safe here with you, but everything was so real," he added in a barely audible voice.

"Oh, that was a horrible dream," Severus said softly. "Harry, if you want to stay with me, you'll never have to return to your relatives. Aunt Poppy and another colleague are here tonight," he said, pointing to Poppy and Minerva, whom Harry hadn't noticed yet because they were still standing by the door, "and we were just discussing how to hide you from our Headmaster, so that I'll be able to take you to Hogwarts with me."

Suddenly, Harry was fully awake. "Really sir? And do you know what to do? Will I be able to come with you?" he asked excitedly, causing the two witches at the door to laugh and step closer.

"In fact, Professor McGonagall came up with an idea," Severus explained carefully. "She suggested..."

"Professor McGonagall?" Harry interrupted him eagerly. "I've read about her. She is the Transfiguration professor and Head of Gryffindor, and she helped Professor Dumbledore in the fight against Grindelwald."

Minerva stepped towards Harry's bed and said gently, "That's me, sweetie, and in face we've already met before, because I often baby-sat you when your mother was still alive."

"Hello Professor," Harry said shyly.

"In private, you may call me Minerva," the witch offered gently, "but now I'll let Severus explain."

Severus let out a long sigh. "Harry, the suggestion is that we pretend to be father and son. I could give you a potion, which will make you resemble me and officially make you my son. We would also change your name, at least your last name, so that no one will know who you really are, except for Minerva, Poppy and us of course."

Harry's eyes began to twinkle happily. "Will you really do that for me?" he asked incredulously. "Make me your son? Although I'm..." He slowly trailed off, continuing just for himself, '_Although I'm a freak and a burden?_'

"Yes Harry, if that's what you want," Severus replied, smiling. "However, you don't have to decide tonight. You hardly know me, and we still have a week of holidays left. I suggest that you keep the matter in mind and think about it, and we'll speak about it again in a week's time."

Harry shook his head in desperation. "No sir, I already decided. I want to become your son. I've known you for a year, and my life became so much better by knowing you. Please... I'm sorry. Only if it's all right with you of course," he added in a smaller voice. '_He should get to know how much of a burden I am beforehand_.'

"Very well then; nevertheless, it's very late tonight, and we're going to plan all the details in the morning. Do you think you're ready to go back to sleep?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied, feeling consoled by the professor's kind words.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Over the following few days, Severus and Harry discussed the adoption matter in detail. In order to give Harry a bit of time to adapt to the situation and to recover completely, Severus decided to give him the potion on Saturday, the day before he was due to return to Hogwarts.

In the meantime, the two wizards spent much time together playing with the train set. When Severus sat at the desk in his office, working on the stacks of parchments he had to grade, Harry was curled up in the chair opposite the desk reading the book that had been included with his potions kit.

"Finished," he finally said and carefully placed the book on the desk in front of him, throwing the professor an expectant look.

Severus glanced up from his parchments and put his quill aside. "That's very good. Would you like to try the first potion? In fact, I need to brew several potions for the hospital wing, and I'd like to spend the rest of the afternoon in the lab."

"Of course," Harry agreed in excitement, eagerly jumping from his chair.

For the next two hours, Severus and Harry busied themselves in the potions lab. Severus was simultaneously brewing three healing potions and watching Harry brew his first simple potion at the same time. From time to time, Severus gently corrected the child if he cut the ingredients into pieces that were too large or hacked something instead of slicing it. However, he realised soon that Harry was able to follow the instructions in detail and always checked the recipe thoroughly before proceeding to the next step. After an hour of adding ingredients and carefully stirring the liquid clockwise, a light pink potion was simmering in the cauldron.

Severus quickly put a stasis charm on his own potions and carefully sniffed at Harry's potion, before he took a small spoon and slowly tasted it. "Congratulations, Harry. You managed to brew your first potion flawlessly," he commended the child. "Now you only have to fill the liquid into the moulds," he pointed to a mould that was part of the kit and contained many small filling holes, "and let it cool down to get your strawberry milk drops." He gently showed Harry how to proceed, and the boy happily continued his work.

"Now clean up your work space," the professor instructed him, and Harry eagerly did as he was told.

Severus noticed in surprise how clean the spot was afterwards, although Harry had only been able to use Muggle methods. '_He seems to be quite adept at brewing_,' he mused as he observed the child eagerly skim the book for another potion to try out.

"Sir, may I brew another potion?" Harry asked hesitantly, and his eyes began to twinkle happily when Severus threw him an encouraging smile and began to advise him which potion he should try next.

One day, Misty finally deemed Harry recovered enough to go flying, and when Severus asked if Harry wanted to try flying on his broom, which he had received for Christmas, Harry jumped up and down in excitement.

"Yes sir, I'd love to try it out. I'd love to play Quidditch at Hogwarts when I'm a student. It sounds so interesting."

Severus smirked. "Harry, as soon as I've given you the adoption potion, we'll go to Diagon Alley and buy proper clothes for you. For today, you'll just have to wear this." He conjured warm robes for Harry to pull over his trousers and jumper, from which he had transfigured his pyjamas earlier.

"Thank you," Harry smiled and headed outside behind the professor, noticing in surprise and amazement that he didn't feel cold at all in spite of the fact that snow was still covering the ground.

Severus, who had spent an hour trying to recall how Rolanda Hooch used to teach the first years how to fly, was just going to begin to instruct Harry how to mount his broom, when the small boy sat on his broom and took into the air without further ado. '_Oh my God, he flies as if he had grown up on a broom_,' he realised soon and followed the child's example by flying together for a while.

"Flying is just wonderful," Harry said excitedly when they returned to the house two hours later with his cheeks red from the cold winter air, his hair messy from the wind and his eyes twinkling with happiness.

"I'm glad you like it," Severus said gently. To his surprise, he had enjoyed flying together with the boy as well. "The next time, we'll take a Snitch with us and try to catch it if you want," he promised, causing Harry to agree with excitement.

Harry really enjoyed living together with the professor. Never before did he have so much fun, learn so much and felt so cared for. Severus never became tired of answering his questions, he always made sure Harry was dressed warm enough, before they headed outside to fly, and he taught him many things.

Severus became used to the small boy's presence faster than he had anticipated. '_If only my students were as polite and obedient as Harry is_,' he often thought when he observed the child follow his instructions in detail. '_Would Lily appreciate that he came to live with me? Potter definitely wouldn't, but I don't care_.' He noticed with astonishment that he was looking forward to the day, on which Harry was going to take the adoption potion, as much as the boy, who couldn't wait for the event to come and became more excited as the days went by.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

When Harry entered the dining room on Saturday morning for breakfast, he was astonished that Minerva and Poppy were joining them for the meal. '_Do we really have to eat breakfast first? Can't I just take the potion?_' Harry mused, feeling much too excited to eat anything.

"Harry, you need to eat something," Severus chided him gently, and Harry grudgingly obeyed.

When the adults were finally contented with the amount he had eaten, they led him into the living room and motioned for him to sit down on the sofa.

"Harry, as I told you before, your whole body might change due to the potion, and this can cause you pain," Severus explained in his soft, silky voice. "Therefore, I suggest that you lie down as soon as you have taken the potion, and if you're in a lot of pain, just grip my hand or tell me, and Aunt Poppy will spell a pain relieving potion straight into your system."

Seeing that Harry shot Severus a frightened look, Poppy threw in softly, "I suggest giving Harry a pain relieving potion in advance. It won't harm him, and this way he won't experience any pain at all."

"Ah all right," Severus agreed immediately and placed a small goblet on the table.

Harry observed anxiously how Severus held his elbow over the goblet and waved his wand, causing two drops of blood to fall into the goblet. After another wave of his wand directed at the potion, Severus held out the goblet to Harry, instructing him not to dwell on the taste.

"Okay," Harry mumbled and greedily gulped the dark red liquid down, trying not to gag at the foul taste.

"Lie down, sweetie," Minerva said softly when Harry handed the empty goblet to Severus and his features slowly began to change.

Harry felt himself being pushed into a lying position and noticed that his body felt extremely uncomfortable, even if it didn't hurt. Fortunately, his discomfort didn't go unnoticed by the adults, and Poppy unobtrusively cast a sleeping spell at the child.

By the time, his mind returned to awareness, the three adults were sitting around the table having tea and talking in quiet voices. Somehow, he felt strange, not bad, but so as if his body structure was different than before. He curiously looked at his hands, letting out a small gasp as he saw how slender his hands had become. His fingers were much longer than before and had a slightly whiter colour.

"Hello Sirius." Minerva was the first to notice that he had woken up.

"Hello," Harry said, sitting up quickly.

"How are you feeling, son?" Severus queried, standing up to sit next to Harry.

"You look very handsome," Minerva complimented the boy, causing Poppy to agree immediately.

"I'm glad he kept Lily's eyes and nose," Severus said softly and held a mirror Minerva had just conjured in front of his new son. "Now you're Sirius Severus Snape, my son."

Harry looked at the mirror in awe. His face had become slightly longer, and his hair wasn't as messy as before but had taken on a straighter form like Severus' hair. '_I'm glad too that my eyes remained green_,' he thought. '_It's my favourite colour_.' "Wow, this is amazing," he said, unconsciously flinching back when the mirror suddenly spoke to him.

"You're a handsome little man," it said in a gentle woman's voice, causing Harry to throw Severus a frightened look.

"Don't worry, sweetie. Mirrors in the magical world often speak. Indeed, they can be very cheeky," Poppy explained softly.

Harry threw the healer a grateful look and relaxed, when Severus' voice caught his attention. "Now Sirius, shall we take the Floo to the Ministry to complete the adoption by making it official?"

"All right," Harry said hesitantly. '_I just hope no one will recognise me and send me back to my relatives_,' he thought as he anxiously stepped beside the professor into the fireplace. Of course, from all his reading he knew exactly what the Floo network was; however, stepping into the fireplace to actually use it was a completely different matter.

"Don't worry, son. Everything will be all right," Severus reassured him softly, gently laying his arm around Harry's back, before he threw in the Floo power and said firmly, "Ministry of Magic."

To Harry's relief, the woman at the family division of the Ministry was very kind, and everything went smoothly. A little more than an hour later, they found himself in front of the Ministry's huge fireplace again.

"Sirius, I suggest that we head to Diagon Alley to buy proper clothes for you before we return to Prince Manor," Severus suggested, causing Harry to throw him an uncertain look.

'_No one ever bought clothes for me, but since I can't have Dudley's old ones anymore, I guess I just have to wait and see what Severus wants to do_,' Harry mused, feeling very uncomfortable. This feeling even intensified when his adoptive father bought several piles of clothes and even wizard's robes, knowing that Harry would need them at Hogwarts.

Apparently noticing how uncomfortable Harry felt, Severus gave up on asking Harry what he wanted and contented himself gathering everything he deemed necessary. When he was finally sure that they had bought everything important, he slowly led Harry through Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron into Muggle London, observing with amusement how Harry looked around in amazement.

"Where are we going, sir?" Harry asked in surprise. "This looks differently from the wizard's street, more like a normal street."

"Correct," Severus smirked. "We just left Diagon Alley, and this is just a normal street in Muggle London. Right around this corner is The Ink Pot, my favourite bookshop."

"Wow, this is the bookshop, where we met for the first time," Harry said excitedly as he followed Severus into the shop.

"Exactly, and you may choose a book," Severus said gently, leading his new son through the hidden door into the magical part of the shop.

It was nearly dinnertime, when they were back at Prince Manor, and Severus quickly enlarged their shopping bags and instructed Cicero to take everything into Harry's room, before he told Harry to wash his hands and get ready for dinner. When Harry obeyed, he sat at his desk for a moment, scribbling a short note on a parchment.

Shortly after Harry returned, Minerva and Poppy stepped out of the fireplace, and Cicero, who appeared and bowed slightly in front of the witches, motioned everyone to the dining room, announcing that dinner was already served.

"Congratulations, Severus and Sirius," Minerva said gently, raising her glass. "I'm very happy for both of you."

"So am I," Poppy threw in. I'd like to..." She interrupted herself when they suddenly heard the fireplace in Severus' study flare, and the Headmaster's voice reached their ears.

"Severus, I'm sorry to disturb you. Since I can't step through, I hope you'll hear me from wherever you are. News reached me that Harry Potter has been injured in a car accident and is at a Muggle hospital. I need to go and check if he's all right, but Minerva and Filius are both absent at the moment. Could you please return to Hogwarts and take over for me for an hour?"

_

* * *

_

tbc...

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews, and thanks to all those who participated in the poll. I finally decided on a different name (Sirius), because this name really means hiding in the open (who would believe Severus to choose his childhood rival's name for his child) and because the name fits the future development of this story extremely well!_

_Thanks to __my husband for beta-ing!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The three adults exchanged a pointed look, before Severus stood up and strode to the fireplace. "Albus, Minerva is here with me. Something happened to my former wife, and I had to take my seven-year-old son in at short notice. Minerva and Poppy are joining us for dinner to help us adjust to the situation. Either Minerva or I will be in your office in ten minutes."

"Thank you, Severus. Are you going to bring your son to Hogwarts tomorrow?" the Headmaster queried gently.

"Yes, I'm afraid I don't have a choice," Severus replied calmly and cut off the Floo connection, sighing. '_Thank God I brought him here and only left a copy at the Dursleys_,' he thought in relief.

"I'll go," Minerva spoke up and rose from her seat. "Thank God you brought Sirius here on time, so that he's safe and sound."

"Exactly," Severus agreed sternly and turned to his son, while Minerva headed to the fireplace. "Sirius, I don't have to tell you that you must never tell anyone about your previous identity, your former life or the fact that I adopted you today. Everyone has to believe that you have grown up with your mother and came to live with me when she died."

"Yes sir, I know that, and my name is Sirius Snape. I like the name," Harry replied, smiling. "I can't wait to go to Hogwarts tomorrow."

"Oh Severus," Poppy suddenly threw in. "What day did you choose for Sirius' birthday? I suppose you changed it to a different date, didn't you?"

"Oh right," Severus remembered. "I changed your birthday to the 25th of March, 1980. This makes you four months older than you are in fact, but I thought it would be better to have the date as different as possible from the real date."

"So far, I didn't have a birthday anyway," Harry mumbled in a small voice and hesitantly told the adults about his uncle's reaction of his question if he had a birthday.

"Oh, Sirius, I promise that you're going to have a birthday this year," Severus said softly. "By the way, I made Aunt Poppy and Aunt Minerva your godmothers. If you ever need me and I'm unavailable for some reason, you can go to either of them. Both of them know everything about you."

"Thank you," Harry said gratefully, feeling very reassured.

They were just about to finish their dessert, when Minerva returned. She stepped over to Harry and pulled him into a bear hug, causing Harry to look at her in surprise. "Thank God you're here, Sirius," she said sombrely. "Sirius, the copy that Severus made, has been injured badly. He is in a coma."

"What happened?" Severus queried, raising an eyebrow at his colleague.

"Albus didn't say," Minerva lied, not wanting to repeat what she had heard in front of the child. "Well, I need to return to Hogwarts. Poppy, will you come with me? When are you going to arrive tomorrow, Severus and Sirius?"

Severus sighed. "In the early afternoon I suppose. I'd appreciate if you could join us in the Headmaster's office when I have to introduce Sirius to him."

"Of course, Severus," Minerva replied gently. "Give me a Floo call, before you leave your quarters. Now, are we going to cast the spell on Sirius' scar now?"

"I believe that would be for the best," Severus agreed and explained to his son, "Sirius, the three of us are going to cast a concealment charm on your scar, which is going to make it invisible to everyone. We'll probably have to renew the charm every few weeks, but it's the only method to hide the scar that we can think of."

"Okay," Harry agreed and anxiously looked at the three adults, who were standing in front of him.

"Don't worry, sweetie. It won't hurt at all," Poppy said soothingly, before Severus counted to three and they simultaneously cast the spell.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Harry could hardly sleep that night. '_I'm going to go to Hogwarts tomorrow, and I'm going as Sirius, Severus' son. I have a real father now. It will be so cool to live at Hogwarts. I just hope the Headmaster won't find out who I am. But what happened to the copy of me they spoke about? Did Uncle Vernon try to kill me?_' he couldn't help wondering.

"Sirius, are you still awake?" he suddenly heard his father's voice.

Severus frowned. Unbeknownst to Sirius, he had looked in on the child every thirty minutes, but the boy still was not sleeping.

"I'm sorry," Harry said in a small voice, looking up at his adoptive father. "Um... What am I supposed to call you, sir?"

Severus remained thoughtful for a moment. "Sirius, you can either continue calling me by my given name, or you can call me father if you feel comfortable enough with it. Sir or Professor wouldn't be very adequate I believe."

"Okay... Severus," Harry replied softly. "I hope the Headmaster won't recognise me and send me back."

"Sirius," Severus said soothingly, gently laying his hand on the boy's. "You're my son now, you look very much like me, and you have a completely different name, birthday etc. Not even your scar is visible anymore." '_I hope Albus won't be able to see through our charm, but since we cast it with three persons, it should be all right_,' he thought as he continued, "The Headmaster won't know, and in the worst case, if he becomes suspicious for some reason, which I cannot imagine at the moment, we'll just leave Hogwarts. Whatever happens, I'm going to be with you. You will not be alone anymore. I promise."

Seeing a smile spread over Sirius' face, Severus added in a soft but firm voice, "And now you're going to sleep, son." He carefully tucked the child in and brushed a kiss on his forehead. As he crossed the room, nox-ing out the single torch he had lit earlier, he unobtrusively spelled a light sleeping potion into the boy's system, smirking as he heard his breathing become more regular before he had even left the room.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

It was nearly lunchtime, when Harry woke up from a deep sleep, feeling very refreshed. "Good morning," he whispered softly as not to disturb Severus, who was sitting on a chair next to his bed, deeply engrossed in a Potions journal.

"Good morning, Sirius," Severus said in his soft, baritone voice. "I suggest that you take a shower and get dressed. I'd like to leave for Hogwarts right after lunch, so that I have time to show you around the castle before the students are going to come back in the evening."

"Yes sir, err... Severus," Harry replied, suddenly becoming very excited. '_We're going to Hogwarts. I just hope I'll be able to behave as Severus expects it from me_.' He hurriedly scrambled out of bed and went to take a shower, gratefully noticing that either Severus or Cicero had already laid out fresh clothes for him.

An hour later, they stepped into the fireplace together, and Harry observed in awe as Severus threw the Floo powder in and shouted, "Severus Snape's quarters, Hogwarts."

When the travel ended and Severus had pulled him out of the fireplace where they had arrived, Harry found himself in a huge but comfortable looking living room. It was round and built around the fireplace. Bookshelves covered every inch of the stone walls that were surrounding the room, only interrupted by a few magical windows that caused the weak rays of the early January sun to turn the room a slightly yellowish colour. A single opening facilitated the view into a short, narrow corridor.

Suddenly, Cicero appeared in front of them. "Master Severus, Master Sirius, welcome back to Hogwarts. The room next to the Master bedroom is prepared for Master Sirius."

"Thank you, Cicero," Severus replied and began to show his son around his quarters.

Harry observed in absolute amazement as the professor touched a book on the fifth row of the shelf in front of them, which caused one part of the shelf to pivot by ninety degrees, revealing another room behind it.

"This is my office," Severus explained gently. "You may only enter my office if the door is open or if it's an emergency."

"Yes sir," the boy replied automatically.

"The same goes for my bedroom, which is the room with the black door," Severus continued, leading Harry back through the living room into the small corridor he had seen earlier, "and my private potions lab, which is behind the silver door. The room with the blue door is your room, and the one with the green door the bathroom. The brown door at the end of the hall leads into a small herb garden, where I grow special ingredients I need for my potions. I'll show you the garden later on."

"Wow, this looks like my room at home," Harry blurted out happily as he stepped into the room with the blue door behind Severus.

"Indeed." Severus smirked. "Do you need me to change the colours in order for you to know if you're at home or here, Sirius?" He raised an eyebrow at the child in amusement.

"No thank you," Harry laughed. "I'm sure I'll be able to remember where I am, and I just love this room as it is. Apart from that, the view from the window is different. Even if it shows a lake like at home, the lake here is larger, and I can see a village at the far end. There is also not such a big fish in the lake at Prince Manor."

"That's not a fish, it's a squid," Severus corrected him, following Harry's eyes out to the lake, where the Giant Squid was playing in the sunshine. "Very well, Sirius; are you ready to pay the Headmaster a visit?"

Harry threw his adoptive father a frightened look, but nodded, reminding himself that he was not alone. "Sirius, before we leave, I want to give you something," Severus suddenly said. He pulled something out of his robe pocket, showing it to the boy. "This is a family heirloom of the Prince family. This pendant, of which I have the equivalent on a chain around my neck, will inform me whenever you're in danger, and through my own pendant I'll be able to get to you wherever you are within seconds."

Harry looked at the pendant, on which an animal that he couldn't recognise was moving around. "What kind of animal is this?" he asked softly, handing the pendant back to his father.

"That's a lynx, Sirius. It's the family animal of the Prince family," Severus explained gently. He carefully fastened the silver necklace around his son's neck. "Never take it off, Sirius. It might save your life one day, and more importantly, it will protect you from a form of magic called Legilimency."

"Yes... Father," Harry replied in a hardly audible whisper.

Severus leaned over to his son and carefully lifted the boy's fringe to make sure that the scar wasn't visible at all. "Very well then, let's go."

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Together, the two Snapes headed to the Headmaster's office. It took them a while to walk through the empty halls of the slumbering castle, because Harry looked at each of the moving pictures in absolute amazement, and the witches in the pictures couldn't refrain from cooing over the sweet little boy. By the time they finally reached the gargoyle, Severus was torn between annoyance and amusement.

"Jumping chocolate frogs," he gave the password and quietly led his son up to the office.

Both Snapes inwardly sighed in relief as they saw that Minerva was with the Headmaster, playing wizard's chess.

"Minerva, Albus," Severus greeted his colleagues. "Albus, this is my son Sirius."

Dumbledore looked up in surprise. "Sirius?" he queried, glancing at Harry with interest.

Before Harry could reply, Severus spoke up. "My wife and I parted on somewhat unfriendly terms, before the boy was born, and knowing my dislike of a certain mutt she decided on the name to get back at me. But it could have been worse; I praise Merlin that I was not on bad terms with Xenophilius Lovegood."

"Hello Professor, hello Aunt Minerva," Harry said softly, causing the Headmaster to frown.

"Aunt Minerva?"

Severus let out a long sigh. '_Things can't get worse now, can they?_' he thought as he explained, "Sirius' mother was a Muggle. Therefore, he was not registered with the Ministry of Magic, and since neither he nor I knew his former godparents, I made Minerva and Poppy his godmothers."

"I see," Dumbledore replied gently and offered Sirius a lemon drop, which the boy politely declined.

"How do you like Hogwarts so far, Sirius?" Minerva asked gently.

"I love it," Harry blurted out. "Severus' quarters have books everywhere, and I also love the moving pictures in the halls. The people in the pictures are very nice."

"How old are you, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked friendly, absentmindedly unwrapping a lemon drop.

"I'm seven," Harry replied anxiously, throwing his father an unsure look.

"He'll be eight on the twenty-fifth of March," Severus supplied helpfully.

"Oh right; let's see if he has an entry in the register of magical children," the Headmaster suddenly remembered and fetched an old tome from his shelf. "Ah, here he is. '_Sirius Severus Snape, March 25th, 1980_'. Very well, Sirius, then you'll be a student here in three and a half years."

"Yes sir," Harry replied softly, glancing at the enormous book with interest.

'_Sirius would prefer to become a student right away_,' Severus thought, taking in his son's slightly disappointed expression.

"Severus, what are you going to do with him at Hogwarts during the day?" Dumbledore asked. "Did Sirius attend a Muggle primary school so far?"

"Yes sir."

"I intend to home school the boy," Severus replied slowly. "Cicero and I will take turns teaching Sirius. Cicero will teach him and watch him do his assignments, while I'm in class, and afterwards I'll teach him myself. I'm even considering taking him to class with me, at least to the lower classes. Sirius is very fond of books. During the week he has been staying with me, he has already read all the Hogwarts first year school books."

"Very well," Dumbledore agreed. "If you need any help, come to me and we'll see what we can do."

'_That's a little late, Albus_,' Severus mused as he slightly inclined his head and thanked the Headmaster.

"Sirius, the same goes for you. Come to see me at any time, and please join your father for the meals in the Great Hall. You may either sit at the Head table with your father and the other teachers or at one of the House tables with the students."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir," Harry replied politely, curiously letting his eyes wander around the Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore sighed. "I'm glad Sirius at least has a father. Did Minerva tell you what happened to Harry Potter last night?"

"No," Severus replied in confusion. "Why would I care what happened to a 'Potter'?" he asked, spitting the last word in disgust. 'Don't worry, Sirius; you know that I'm only feigning,' he quickly thought to his son.

"He was hit by a car, driven by his own uncle," Dumbledore explained gravely. "He is in a coma. Maybe I shouldn't have left him with Muggles but raised him at Hogwarts. He is about the same age as Sirius. If he recovers, I'll think about bringing Harry here at least for a few hours each day. He could have private classes together with Sirius."

"No Albus," Severus replied vehemently. "I will not have my son grow up together with a Potter." At the same time, his thoughts went haywire. '_The copy is going to vanish some time during the next few months, and none of us wants to be nearby when it happens_.'

The Headmaster let out a long sigh. "Oh Severus, my boy, are you still bearing grudges? So many years have passed since your own Hogwarts days."

"Not enough," Severus growled, inwardly sighing in annoyance.

"Albus, leave Severus and Sirius in peace," Minerva added causing Harry to throw her a grateful look. The professor had been so quiet that he had nearly forgotten that she was present.

"Very well, Minerva. We'll still think about what to do with Harry, provided that he wakes up from his coma any time soon. By the way, Severus, why didn't you take the opportunity to change your son's name, when you registered him with the Ministry, if you don't mind me asking?" Dumbledore asked softly. "I'm sure that name holds at least as many bad memories for you as James Potter's."

Severus sighed, realising that his son was looking at the Headmaster in shock.

_

* * *

_

tbc...

_Thanks for your many kind reviews, which I appreciated greatly, and thanks to __my husband for beta-ing!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"I don't have a problem with the name that my former wife gave to my son, and it is his name. I have no right to take it from him just because of a stupid childhood grudge," Severus replied in a slightly angry voice. Turning to his son, he explained, "My former childhood nemesis, who even tried to kill me here at Hogwarts and who was never punished for his deeds, had the name Sirius. However, this has nothing to do with you, and I love you, irrespectively of the fact that you share the same name as him."

"All right, Severus," Harry replied unsurely, trusting that Severus would explain about his choice of name to him later on in private.

"If that's all, Headmaster," Severus queried and raised an eyebrow at the old wizard.

"Yes my boy. Thank you for coming and introducing your son to me," Dumbledore replied pleasantly. "Bye Sirius and Severus. I'll see you at the Welcoming Feast."

Severus and Harry quietly left the office and returned to Severus' quarters. "I believe that you have several questions," Severus stated, motioning Harry to take a seat on one of the comfortable looking sofas around the fireplace.

"I'm sorry, sir, err... Severus, but if you don't mind me asking about the matter with my name and with... Was it my father the conversation was about?"

Severus let out a pensive sigh. "First of all, Sirius, remember that I love you and that I'm glad and proud of having you as my son. Secondly, your birth mother was my best friend, and I loved her dearly."

"All right," Harry replied in a small voice, giving his adoptive father an apprehensive look.

"Your birth father, James Potter, as well as his best friend, Sirius Black, and I did not have a good relationship. Frankly speaking it couldn't have been worse. Both of them were bullies. However, this has nothing to do with you. You're much more like your mother, and I'm glad that you still have your green eyes. They are your mother's eyes." Severus smiled, unobtrusively wiping a tear out of his left eye.

"Concerning my choice of your name," Severus continued, "I chose that name for a reason. It is necessary so that the Headmaster won't discover your real identity. You heard him earlier. Do you think he'd believe that I willingly gave my son the name 'Sirius'?"

"No," Harry replied, chuckling. "That's the best disguise you could possibly have thought of. Is that what they always describe as 'the Slytherin way of thinking'?"

Severus smirked. "Exactly, my son. That's Slytherin thinking. I am a Slytherin to the core. Are you still all right with your name?"

"Of course," Harry said in surprise. "I like my name. Sirius Severus Snape really sounds cool. If you're all right with it, so am I."

"Very well," Severus nodded contentedly. "The corporal copy I made from you before I took you away from the Dursleys..."

"It must be really good if the Headmaster believes it to be Harry Potter," Harry interrupted him excitedly, grinning. "What's going to happen with him though?"

"I don't know if he is going to wake up from his coma of course. However, he will only last for a few weeks or months, maybe months considering that my magic is relatively strong, but then he'll just vanish as if he hadn't been there at all."

"Will Dumbledore take him here, so that we have to have lessons together?" Harry asked, feeling uncomfortable at the thought of interacting with a copy of his former self. '_I wouldn't know how to behave towards the copy, and maybe Dumbledore would get suspicious if I acted strangely_.'

"I won't allow him to have lessons together with you, Sirius; don't worry," Severus replied soothingly. "If it comes to this, I'll think of something. Just trust me, son."

"All right," Harry replied, feeling very consoled not to be alone with the problem.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

During the following weeks, Severus and Minerva allowed Harry to accompany them to their first year classes, and Harry enjoyed himself so much that he even insisted on attending both, the Gryffindor-Slytherin and the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff classes. Additionally, Cicero was teaching him Maths, and Severus taught him Potions as well as easy Charms and Spells, which he could perform with a children's wand.

In the evenings after curfew, Minerva, Poppy and Severus often met in the Snape quarters for tea, discussing Sirius' progress, Harry Potter's situation, the Headmaster's latest ideas and Severus' possible plans for the future.

"If Harry likes to do spells, I could teach him easy Healing spells," Poppy offered one day, pointing out, "I could teach him while you're in class."

Severus gratefully accepted the offer, knowing that his son loved to use his wand and learn new spells. From that time onwards, Harry spent much time assisting his godmother, who confirmed to his father that he was not only adept at learning new spells but that his magic was extremely powerful for his age.

It was on a bright spring day towards the end of March, when Harry was just brewing an easy Healing potion under Poppy's supervision in the small potions lab behind the hospital wing, that the Headmaster made an appearance.

"Sirius, there you are," he said pleasantly, "just the boy I was looking for. Please follow me into my office."

Harry threw Poppy an anxious glance, feeling very reassured when the Mediwitch replied on his behalf. "I'm sorry, Albus, but Severus instructed the boy to remain here with me and not to leave the hospital wing."

"Ah but I'm sure Severus won't mind Sirius accompanying me to my office for a moment," the Headmaster objected, offering a lemon drop to Sirius, which the boy politely declined.

"I'm sorry, sir, but my father instructed me not to go anywhere. Could I perhaps ask for his permission after the end of the class?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"I'm afraid that's too late my boy. In fact, I'd like to introduce someone to you. Harry Potter, who is only a few months younger than you and will be in the same Hogwarts year in a few years' time, is just visiting me, and since I'd like the two of you to have classes together, I'd like you to get to know him."

Poppy firmly shook her head. "Albus, you can either wait until the end of the class, or I'm afraid..."

"Poppy, I can't wait. Harry was injured badly, and he is not well yet. And I have to take him back to the Dursleys, before Petunia notices that he is gone."

"You mean you abducted him," Poppy said sternly, glaring at the Headmaster.

"Ah, but I merely borrowed him for a while. Maybe you could accompany Sirius and I and quickly check on the child to ensure that he is recovering, Poppy?"

'_He'll never recover if he's stuck with the Dursleys'_,' Harry mused, throwing the Healer an anxious glance.

"Very well then," Poppy replied, sighing as she leaned down to Harry to be at his height and looked straight into his eyes. "Sirius, we'll go to the Headmaster's office just for a few minutes. I'm going to be with you all the time. Is that all right with you, sweetie?"

"Yes, of course," Harry replied, knowing that he was safe in his godmother's company and with the necklace with his father's pendant around his neck.

While the Headmaster stepped into the fireplace, Poppy and Harry left through the door, and Poppy quickly sent a Patronus to Severus. Harry observed in amazement as a white bird appeared out of the tip of her wand only to disappear into thin air.

When they arrived in the Headmaster's office, Harry stared in shock and awe at the copy of himself that was sitting on a chair at the Headmaster's desk with his arms and legs in plaster. Even one of his cheeks held a huge wound that was still healing. '_I must be careful_,' Harry told himself. '_I don't know the Dursleys. I've never heard of them_.'

Dumbledore introduced Harry and Sirius and told Harry that he would probably be going to have lessons together with Sirius at Hogwarts as soon as he was properly recovered.

"Sirius Snape? Snape as in Professor Snape?" Harry asked in surprise, causing the Headmaster to throw him a confused look.

"Well Albus, your teachers are famous; apart from that I assume that Harry's aunt knows Severus from her own childhood, considering that Severus was Lily's best friend and they grew up together," Poppy quickly saved the situation and leaned down to Harry. "Harry, would you mind me quickly checking on you? Sometimes, magic is much better able to heal injuries than Muggle medicine."

"All right," the copy of Harry said apprehensively.

Poppy thoroughly checked on the boy and, glad that the Headmaster had no knowledge of Healing spells at all, cast several diagnostic spells that allowed her to get an insight into the exact state of the copy. Finally, she slid her wand back into her robe pockets, before she explained, "His inner organs are still suffering from the injuries he received, and he needs a lot of rest, if possible bed rest for a few more weeks. It'll take at least a month if not more until he'll be in a condition to travel to and from Hogwarts on a daily basis."

Dumbledore threw the Mediwitch a thoughtful look. "In that case, we must think about taking Harry to Hogwarts. Maybe it'll suffice if he spends the summer with his aunt. Poppy, do you think Severus would be willing to take him in, considering that Sirius and Harry could be good friends?"

"That you have to ask Sirius' father, Albus," Poppy replied firmly. "If you would excuse Sirius and I now, we have a patient to look after."

"Of course," Dumbledore replied pleasantly. "Sirius, I'll speak with your father about the matter later on. Would you be all right having a brother?"

"Of course sir," Harry replied, feeling his stomach churn at the thought.

"Don't worry, sweetie. You know that your father won't agree to any of the Headmaster's bizarre ideas," Poppy said soothingly as they returned to the hospital wing, where Severus showed up a few minutes later.

Poppy motioned for Severus to take a seat in her office and informed him about the conversation with the Headmaster.

"That's it, Poppy," Severus said flatly after a few minutes of thoughtful silence, during which Harry had worriedly observed the emotions that flashed in his adoptive father's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Severus," Poppy said softly.

"Sirius," Severus addressed his son in a stern voice. "We're going to leave Hogwarts at the end of next week. Is that all right with you?"

Harry threw his father a sad smile. "Of course, Father. I'll go wherever you go. I'm sorry."

Severus reached out, grabbing his son's shoulders and turned the boy to face him. Looking straight into the child's eyes, he said firmly, "Sirius, I am not sorry, and you don't have to be either. We're going to stay in contact with Aunt Poppy and Aunt Minerva through the wiz2wiz connection, and they can come and visit us during the summer if they want."

"Okay," Harry replied, leaning into his adoptive father's embrace.

"Poppy, during the next ten days I'll need your and Minerva's help, because I'll have to run several errands."

"Severus, Minerva and I will always be there if you or Sirius need us. You know that," Poppy replied softly, before she turned to Sirius. "Now, will you help me finish the potion and then check on the patient again?"

"Of course," Harry smiled. "May I stay here and help Aunt Poppy for a bit, Severus?"

Severus sighed. "Yes, that's a good idea, because it gives me the time to organise several matters. I'll come and fetch you later on when I'm back." He brushed a kiss on the child's forehead and stepped into the fireplace.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Severus returned to his office, sat at his desk and pulled a wiz2wiz connection parchment out of a drawer, before he began to compose the most important letter he had written in years.

'_Headmaster Abe,  
__Thank you for your earlier kind offer. I hereby accept the position as Potions Master and Potions Professor at your school from the coming school year onwards. I also wish for my son, Sirius Severus Snape, to be registered as a first year in the classes that are being held in English. He will be eight years old on the twenty-fifth of March. If I remember correctly, the new school year begins on the first of April, and students from eight years and older are accepted at your school.  
__I would __appreciate a prompt acknowledgement.  
__Yours sincerely  
__Severus Snape_.'

'_Thank God I gave Headmaster Abe the connecting parchment when I met him again at the conference last month_,' he mused, impatiently glancing at the parchment, before he realised that it had to be in the middle of the night at the school, to which he intended to move. Pulling a normal, empty parchment over, he began to make notes, listing up all the errands he had to run in order to prepare everything for the change, before he called Cicero and discussed the matter with him.

"Oh Master Severus," Cicero replied in excitement, "that's no problem. I can take your whole Potions lab with me and set it up again. Perhaps it would help if I could take Malcolm with me though."

Severus sighed and explained that only Minerva, Poppy and their respective elves, Malcolm and Misty, were allowed to know to which school he was moving.

"I understand, Master Severus. No problem. I will try to get some information about the new school," Cicero promised, before he popped away.

Late in the evening, when Harry was already soundly asleep, Headmaster Abe's reply popped up on the parchment, and Severus read aloud to Minerva and Poppy, who were sitting next to him on the sofa, craning their necks to decipher the writing on the parchment.

'_Dear Professor Severus Snape,  
__We gladly welcome you and your son Sirius here for the new school year. I have registered Sirius for the Moon class, which is the class for the students, who do not yet speak our language but only English. After completing his first language course, he will be automatically accepted into the Mercury class.  
__Our house-elves will prepare your quarters; however, your house-elves are welcome to assist according to your preferences and arrange the relocation of your private potions lab etc.  
__We expect you here on the twenty-fifth of March. I shall wait for you and your son at the International Floo Port at ten o'clock in the morning to take you here by Portkey.  
__We are looking forward to seeing you next week.  
__Headmaster and (former) Potions Master Professor H. Abe_'

"Congratulations Severus," Minerva said softly.

"I hope that you and Sirius will be very happy at your new school, where no one expects anything from both of you apart from being professor and student," Poppy said gently.

"Thank you," Severus replied gratefully, suddenly becoming pensive. "This is so sudden. Today is the sixteenth of March, and we'll have to leave on the day before Sirius' birthday. It's just a week until then. I hope Albus won't be too angry about the short notice."

Minerva let out a snort. "Let him be; it's his own fault. He was the one to suggest something as ridiculous as you becoming Harry Potter's guardian." She chuckled.

"Minerva, Poppy," Severus said sternly, "if he suspects you when the copy vanishes, you can come and stay with us at any time. Use your wiz2wiz parchments and keep me updated on everything."

"We'll do that," Minerva replied softly. "I'll make it a habit to scribble a quick note every night."

"So will I, but only if you or Sirius reply," Poppy added, smirking.

"Sirius is going to miss you. Oh well, no time for such thoughts. I have lots of things to arrange until then."

"Severus, don't forget to pay Gringotts a visit and inform the Goblins about Harry Potter's name change and arrange with them how to access Sirius' vaults from abroad. You never know how everything develops," Minerva advised him, before the three colleagues retired for the night.

During the following week, Severus was extremely busy and sighed in relief as he pulled Sirius away from Minerva's and Poppy's embraces and motioned for him to step next to him into the fireplace, shouting, "Heathrow Floo Port."

_

* * *

_

tbc...

_Thank you so much for your kind comments! You're wonderful readers! From the following chapters onwards, I intend to fully use the name Sirius instead of Harry. Is that all right for all of you, or do you still want me to use Harry's name for the narration parts?_

_Thanks to __my husband for beta-ing!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**_A quick update as a thank you to the many readers, who were so kind and reviewed - thank you!_**

* * *

At Heathrow Floo Port, Severus pulled Sirius out of the fireplace and handed him a small phial. Seeing his son critically eye the lime green potion, he sighed. "It's a stomach calming draught." Severus downed one himself, before he explained, "The next means of travel might not be too pleasant, so I suggest you take the potion as well."

Sirius quickly gulped down the cool liquid and handed the phial back. "Thank you, Severus."

They queued behind at least fifty other people, and it took fifteen minutes, before Sirius was even able to see the fireplace they were going to travel from. After another twenty minutes it was their turn.

"Very well, Sirius; fortunately, this fireplace is as large as the one at Hogwarts, so that we can travel together. Just stay with me," his father instructed him and motioned Harry to follow him into the fireplace. Sirius glanced at the inscription right over the fireplace that announced, '_Intercontinental Floo_.'

"Are you ready?" Severus asked softly, before he shouted, "Narita International Floo Port."

The journey took several minutes, and Sirius felt extremely grateful to his father for the stomach calming potion. '_I'd surely be sick by now_,' he thought. After what seemed like an infinite time, the journey finally ended.

The ending of the motion pulled Severus out of his thoughts. During their journey, bits of his earlier conversation with Dumbledore had filled his mind.

_**(**__**Flashback – a week earlier)**_

"Albus, I wish to retire from my post by the end of this month."

"Ah but Severus..."

"Headmaster, I mean it."

"Severus, please, think of your son..."

"I am thinking of my son. That's why I'm going to leave Hogwarts. I will not have him grow up together with an offspring of 'Potter'."

"Sirius could be good friends with Harry. Don't you think it's time to put an end to the grudges..."

"No Albus. It's too late anyway. I have accepted the post of Potions Master at another school that takes children from the age of eight, and my son is already registered as a first year from the first of April onwards."

'_Thank God I chose his date of birth so wisely. One week later, and Sirius would have had to wait a whole year until he'd have been able to become a student_.'

_**(End of flashback)**_

A very thin man with black hair and golden half moon glasses suddenly stepped in front of them, bowing slightly. "Welcome to Japan, Professor Snape, Mr. Snape. I hope you had a pleasant journey."

"Good morning, Headmaster Abe. This is my son Sirius. Our journey was agreeable; however, it is very reassuring that you kindly came to meet us here, since neither of us speak any Japanese yet."

"I shall accompany now to '_Mirai School of Wizardry and Technology_' in Tsukuba by Portkey." The Headmaster pulled out a chain that had the form of the dog constellation Canis Major from his robe pocket and explained, "This is Canis Major, the constellation, which is our school mascot. Well, this one here is my private Portkey."

He motioned for Severus and Sirius to hold on to the Portkey and mumbled something in Japanese that they couldn't understand.

Sirius soon felt a strange pull behind his navel, and the world began to revolve. When the movement finally stopped, he looked around with interest. They had arrived in a round office, '_probably the Headmaster's office_,' he thought. From the form, it resembled that of Albus Dumbledore at Hogwarts; however, it was kept in very bright colours and had a somewhat futuristic touch to it.

The Headmaster motioned for them to take a seat and asked, "Would you prefer Japanese green tea or black tea, Mr. Snape?"

"Black tea, please," Severus replied, glancing at Sirius.

The Headmaster chuckled. "Our students used to drink cold wheat tea, _mugi-cha_; however, ever since you introduced me to pumpkin juice in England, we're having pumpkin juice here at the school. Sirius, do you like pumpkin juice?"

"Yes please. Thank you, sir," Sirius replied shyly.

The Headmaster snipped his fingers, and a tiny house-elf appeared, who bowed so deeply that his ears flapped onto the floor. The elf uttered something in Japanese, and even if neither Severus nor Sirius could understand a word, it sounded very soft and polite. The Headmaster replied in a much harsher tone, and instants later, their drinks popped up on the table along with a plate of sandwiches.

"First of all, I'll explain a little about our school. We're still a small school and only have a few subjects so far. As you know from the name of our school, we're a wizarding school; however, we specialize in technology, especially future technologies such as laser technologies and thus laser magic. Later on, I'll introduce Professor Ito to you. He is teaching Laser Technology and Healing, and he acts as our Healer as we lack anyone else to take over our hospital, since there is no one with experience in Laser magic. Therefore, as the Potions Master, you will have to work closely together with him. We also have, of course, Potions classes, which I taught so far. However, I'm glad to be able to fully concentrate on my Headmaster's and administrative tasks from now on."

Severus lightly inclined his head, while Sirius listened with interest. '_Laser magic; I wonder what that is; it sounds cool anyway_,' he thought.

"We also have Math classes for the younger students from eight to ten years as well as Charms and Astronomy classes just like at Hogwarts, and Sports classes, which partly involve magical animals." Seeing that Sirius was throwing him a curious look, he explained, "In your country, you play Quidditch, don't you?"

Sirius nodded, smiling.

"Very well then, here in our Sports class, you play Quidditch on brooms; however, you also play Hippolo, which means that you ride on Hippogriffs while you play Quidditch. You learn horse riding on unicorns, which is more difficult than it sounds, etc."

'_Wow, that sounds really coo_l,' Sirius mused, throwing his father a happy glance.

Before the Headmaster could explain more, two children of about Sirius' age stormed into the room. There was a girl with long, black hair and black eyes, and she was smiling mischievously. The boy, apparently her twin brother, had extremely short hair and seemed a bit shyer than his sister, who let fly a stream of words in Japanese that caused the Headmaster to roll his eyes.

"I am so sorry," he suddenly began to apologize. "These are my children, the twins Kazumi," he pointed to the girl, "and Kenji. They just reminded me that it is Sirius' birthday, and everyone is waiting for us in the Planetarium to eat his birthday cake." Turning to Sirius, he explained, "I am sorry. I was so excited to finally have managed to talk your father into teaching at our school that I completely forgot about your birthday, which is very important for an eight-year-old as my twins taught me last month when they turned eight."

"Oh, it's no problem," Sirius replied, feeling slightly confused. "I didn't even think about it, because we left in the evening before my birthday."

"Here, we are nine hours ahead from the time in Great Britain," Severus added softly, causing Sirius to nod in understanding.

'_Strange; we skipped a whole night, but I'm not even tired_,' he thought.

"By the way, Sirius" the Headmaster continued, "our students live together in small rooms with two persons. I have paired you and Kenji, although you'll only be in the Mercury class together after you've passed your first Japanese class, which I assume will be after the summer holidays if you try really hard. He'll be able to help you if you ever have questions. You're also very welcome to come to me at any time. If you prefer to stay in your father's quarters, you're free to do so of course; however, I believe that it'll be easier for you to adjust to our school, if you live together with your classmates."

"Yes sir, thank you very much sir," Sirius replied, feeling very grateful for the man's consideration.

Kenji came over to Sirius and held out his hand to him. "Let's have much fun together."

Sirius chuckled as he lightly took his new friend's hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sirius."

"Hello Sirius. I'm Kazumi. Come, let's go and have some birthday cake!" With that, the girl pulled him out of the Headmaster's office and along a flight of stairs, until they reached the Planetarium, a Hall that reminded Harry of the Great Hall, even if it was much smaller. However, it was a circular room and not only the ceiling, but also the walls were charmed and showed the sky along with thousands of little stars and planets. "You can see the stars better when it gets dark. The light adjusts to the light outside," Kazumi explained eagerly.

'_Oh right; that's why it is so light in here now_,' Sirius mused. "I have just realised you are speaking English."

"Oh, we lived for two years in the USA. Our father was a guest professor at the Massachusetts Magical Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts," Kazumi explained quickly.

The Headmaster introduced his wife Mami, a small woman with orange hair and the same smile on her face as Kazumi. She was the Charms teacher. Professor Ito, the professor for Laser Technology and Healing, was heavily built. His hair was extremely short like Kenji's, and he looked very friendly. "Our Astronomy and Sports teachers are still on holidays," Headmaster Abe explained.

Sirius felt himself being pushed onto the seat next to Severus, before Kazumi sat down on his other side and urged her mother to distribute the cake, before she turned to Sirius. "I hope you like strawberry cheese cake. It's my favourite."

"I like every kind of cake," Sirius replied softly, '_especially as this is my first birthday cake ever_,' he thought to himself.

'Is everything all right, son?' Severus telepathically communicated, and Sirius glanced at his father, unobtrusively nodding his head.

Sirius happily munched his cake, noticing that his eyes suddenly became very heavy. It became more and more difficult to keep them open, and he was utterly relieved when he heard the Headmaster's wife say, "I believe it's time for Severus and Sirius to take a nap. They spent the whole night travelling and must be extremely tired."

"Very well," the Headmaster agreed. "I'll show you to your quarters." On the way, he explained that the students' rooms were closed over the holidays, so that Sirius had to stay in his room in Severus' quarters for the week until the beginning of the school year.

Too tired to look left or right or even remember the way, Sirius let himself sink onto the bed and drifted off to sleep instantly. When he woke up, his father was sitting on the edge of his bed, engrossed in a Potions journal.

"Good morning, son. Would you like to have a look at your presents, before we have to go back to the Planetarium for dinner?" Severus asked, smirking, causing Sirius to sit up quickly.

"Is it that late?" he asked in disbelief, sleepily rubbing his eyes.

"Yes it is, and you have messages from Aunt Poppy and Aunt Minerva on the wiz2wiz parchment," Severus replied in amusement, holding out the parchment for Sirius.

'_Hello Sirius, Happy Birthday. All the best for your stay in Japan, and Aunt Poppy and I will make sure to come and visit you one day. Minerva_.'

'_Dear Sirius, have a nice birthday in your new school and take care of yourself and your father. Don't forget to write back. Poppy_.'

Sirius smiled. "I'm going to miss talking to them when I have to stay with the other students," he said in a small voice, causing Severus to grin.

"Sirius, I made a copy from the master parchment. This parchment here is yours for you to keep and communicate with them and also with me if you need me during the night."

Sirius listened in amazement, before he said happily, "Thank you so much, Dad; you're the best!"

_**At Hogwarts...**_

Albus Dumbledore looked around the staffroom. Everyone had arrived for the extraordinary staff meeting – everyone except for Severus Snape. He let out a long sigh, before he addressed his colleagues. "Up to the last minute, I had hoped that Severus was only bluffing, but he seems to really have left us together with his son Sirius. This is a grave loss, considering that he was my most trusted spy. How could he do that to us? It seems a bit ungrateful after all we have done for him."

"No Albus," Minerva objected sternly. "Yes, you have done a lot for him, but he has returned much more than he ever received, and, I'm sorry, but you've hardly treated him better than a house-elf. I can only hope that he'll have a better time at his new school, and I'd like to advise you to treat Harry Potter better and don't take everything for granted like you did with Severus."

"I fully agree with Minerva," Pomona Sprout spoke up. "Minerva, please tell Severus that I wish him all the best for the future."

"I agree also," Poppy stated.

"Very well," the Headmaster replied with a very disappointed look on his face. "For the time being, I am going to teach the Potions classes. However, I'd like all of you to support me in the search for a new Potions Master."

_**At the Mirai School...**_

After dinner in the Planetarium, Kazumi and Kenji invited Sirius to visit them in their quarters. Sirius threw Severus a questioning look. "May I?" he mouthed. '_I've never been invited to visit other kids; they're really nice_,' he thought in excitement.

"If their parents are all right with it and they accompany you back to our quarters so that you won't get lost, I don't mind," Severus replied, smirking.

"Of course Sirius is welcome, and we'll take him home before bedtime," their mother replied softly.

The three children had much fun, talking and playing in Kenji's room, until their mother came to tell them that it was bed time. Sirius didn't feel tired at all and interestedly observed his surroundings when the professor walked him home to Severus' and his quarters. He found himself in a small corridor with walls completely painted in white and the left wall completely made of glass, allowing the view onto the grounds and a huge lake. 'Just like at Hogwarts,' he thought. In surprise, he realised that Professor Abe stopped in front of a door that was just a few doors further down the corridor from her own quarters.

"The teachers' quarters are all here on the same floor," the professor explained gently as she motioned for Sirius to put his hand against the door, so that it would open for him.

"Thank you, Professor. Good night," Sirius said gratefully.

"You're welcome, Sirius. Good night," the professor replied and exchanged a few words with Severus, before she invited him to come and visit them at any time, before she returned home.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

During the next few days, Sirius spent much time with the twins, while Severus prepared his classes. Even if he could mainly utilise the lesson plans he had used at Hogwarts, he had to consider that the youngest students were three years younger than those he had taught at Hogwarts. Therefore, he needed to adjust his plans accordingly. Instead of being Head of Slytherin he would now be the Head of the fourteen and fifteen year old students. '_Well, that's probably not so much of a change_,' Severus thought. '_The eight-year-olds would be much more difficult_.'

On Saturday morning at ten o'clock, around one hundred and twenty students arrived on the grounds near the lake by Portkey. The Headmaster quickly waved his wand, casting a temporary charm over the group that would enable the students to understand each other's languages. Unfortunately, this charm was only temporary and was going to wear off after twelve hours. Experience had shown that it was better the students learned the Japanese language properly, so they could assimilate the culture and traditions involved.

"All eight-year-old students come here," Kazumi's and Kenji's mother shouted, and Sirius, the twins and nine other students gathered around her. "Welcome to Mirai School of Wizardry and Technology. With five exceptions, students will mainly attend the Moon class in order to learn Japanese, all of you will belong to the Mercury class. I am Professor Abe, and I'm your Head of year. I will be responsible for you out of class; so whenever you have problems, feel free to come to me. I suggest that we withdraw to your common room, where we you can introduce yourselves to one another."

The professor led the first years into the building and in a direction, in which Sirius had never been before. They walked into a huge, round room with a large, white table in the middle surrounded by ten white chairs. One wall was covered by bookshelves, and one wall consisted completely of glass that permitted the view onto the lake. '_Is that a real window, or is it magical?_' Sirius pondered but was unable to decide on an answer. '_I'll ask the twins later on_,' he decided and followed the others as the professor led them to a corner with comfortable looking sofas that were arranged around the fireplace. On the two sides of the room, Sirius could see four doors. Three of them were fitted with name plates; the fourth seemed to be a bathroom.

"I suggest that you introduce yourselves to each other, before I tell you a little more about the school," Professor Abe said gently, motioning Kazumi to begin.

Sirius looked around in shock. '_What am I going to tell them?_' he thought, terrified. However, the twins' introductions were so funny that everyone was laughing and in a good mood when it was his turn, so that he forgot all his anxiousness and quickly told the others that he had come to live with his father after his mother died and that his father had accepted a post as a teacher at Mirai school and had brought him with him.

"I love to read and to learn, and I'm very much looking forward to attending classes here," he finished, inwardly sighing in relief.

"Sirius Snape? Are you perhaps related to Severus Snape, the Potions Master at Hogwarts?" the only student that looked European and spoke accent-free English like Sirius asked curiously.

_

* * *

_

tbc...

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews! I'm glad you appreciate Sirius and Severus leaving Hogwarts. Since I was asked several times: Sirius Black will not appear in this story. _

_You fill find an exact list of the people in this story (including the OCs) on my Livejournal page, where you can comment and ask questions if you want. You will also find the OCs on my author's page as usual of course. There won't be any other OCs than those, who appeared in this chapter though!_

_Thanks to __my husband for beta-ing!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	9. Chapter 9

_**AN**__** – Please read**__: Several readers asked me why I chose a school in Japan and not for example a school in the USA. The answer is simple: I spent many years living, studying, teaching and working in Japan. My children visit the Japanese primary school, even here in Germany. Therefore, I'm well acquainted with Japan and its culture. I have no idea about life in America; so I chose the school to be located in Japan. I could also have chosen Germany, but that was too close to England and Scotland for my liking. _

_This only concerns the background, which will only very slightly be touched in this story; the Mirai school itself is very western oriented (like many technical universities in Japan are), due to the Headmaster's connections to the western world and due to the concentration to future technologies. Also, because of the school's rare specialisation (laser magic), every year several students from abroad come to attend the school. So don't worry; you won't have any problems feeling 'at home' at this school._

_Just to recap, here once more are the five (and only) OCs for this story, the Abe family and Professor Ito:_

_1. Headmaster Abe (Potions Master), very thin man with black hair and golden half moon glasses  
__2. Professor Mami Abe – Headmaster Abe's wife and Charms teacher, Head teacher of Sirius' class, small woman with orange hair  
__3. Kazumi Abe – Kenji's twin sister, student in Sirius' (Harry's) class, long, black hair and black eyes  
__4. Kenji Abe – Kazumi's twin brother, student in Sirius' (Harry's) class, Sirius' best friend, extremely short hair, a bit shy  
__5. Professor Ito – Professor for Laser Technology and Healing and Healer, heavily built, extremely short hair, friendly._

------------------------------------------

**Chapter 9**

"Severus Snape is my father, but he is the Potions professor here now," Sirius replied quietly. "That's why I ended up here as well. Why did you come here instead of going to Hogwarts in three years' time?"

The girl, who had introduced herself as Mandy Brocklehurst, smiled. "My parents are friends with Professor Ito, the Healing Professor. He told them so much about this school that my parents decided to send me here."

Professor Abe's voice pulled Sirius out of his conversation with Mandy. "Please make yourselves comfortable in your rooms; we'll meet here again in one hour, so I can take you to the Planetarium for lunch."

Sirius was glad that he shared the room with Kenji. They had already become good friends during the last week. Absentmindedly noticing that Kazumi pulled Mandy along, he followed Kenji to the room they had been assigned.

"Wow, this is a cool room," he blurted out in amazement.

"It surely is," Kenji smirked. "Mum redecorated all the first years' rooms, and I helped her design it."

"Wow, well done," Sirius acknowledged in awe. The room held two beds on opposite sides of the room. Each of them had a bookshelf at one side and a wardrobe at the other. Two desks were placed back to back in the middle of the room. Charmed windows covered the short wall of the room, opposite the door. The whole room was decorated in white and different shades of blue that matched the ceiling, which was slightly rounded and charmed to display the sky with thousands of stars. Like in the Planetarium, it was charmed to adjust to the light of the sky outside.

Kenji laughed at Sirius' apparent amazement. "Well, if you're finished staring, we had better unpack," he suggested and pulled his trunk over to one side of the room.

"Ah, all right," Sirius replied and quickly followed the other boy's example.

They were just finished unpacking, when they heard a knock at the door and Kazumi entered the room with Mandy in tow. The four children chatted for a while, until Kenji looked at his watch and realised that it was time for lunch.

'_Thank God; I'm hungry_,' Sirius thought. '_It's strange how much I got used to getting regular meals during the last few months. At the Dursleys, I often went without anything to eat for several days_.'

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

The four children soon became good friends. Although they were on good terms with all their classmates, the four of them were always together except for the Japanese language classes that Mandy and Sirius had to attend. The two girls took the chairs from their own room into the boys' room, and the quartet used to study together in the boys' room.

As fluent as the twins were in English, Mandy and Sirius asked them to speak Japanese whenever possible, so that they'd get as much practice and catch up as fast as possible.

'_I can't wait to be able to properly attend classes_,' Sirius thought. For the moment, Professor Abe had to cast a spell on them each morning, so that they were able to follow their classes.

For the first years, curfew was at eight o'clock, on Fridays and Saturdays one hour later, and by curfew they absolutely had to be in their rooms; otherwise, class points would be taken.

"Our school never had a points system," Kenji informed Sirius. "Your father told my parents about the House point system at his former school, and they liked it so much that they introduced it right away. We should try to win the cup at the end of the school year against all the older students."

After curfew, they still had thirty minutes until lights out. Sirius always hurried to get ready for bed and then spent the last few minutes before Professor Abe would come to check on them and spell the lights out writing a few lines to Minerva, Poppy and, if he still had time, to his father. By the time he woke up in the morning, there were always replies from all three adults.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Severus became used to being at the Mirai school as quickly as Sirius. Cicero had arranged his quarters, his lab, his office and even his classroom in the same way as they had been at Hogwarts. The students seemed to be more eager to learn than those at Hogwarts, and it was less unnerving to teach them. The only annoying point in his current life was the fact that Headmaster Abe had to cast a charm on him that enabled him to speak and understand Japanese every morning. Every day after his classes, Severus attended the Japanese language class together with his son and a few other first years, and he couldn't wait to finally master the language.

'_The only positive about the Japanese classes is that I get the chance to meet Sirius out of the Potions class each day_,' he thought, feeling very relieved that Sirius seemed to have adjusted to his new life as well as himself.

Just like his son, Severus used the wiz2wiz connection parchments every night and often led longer conversations with Minerva or Poppy, and, as nice as his new colleagues were, he had to admit to himself that he was missing his two former colleagues, whom he had known since he was eleven and a first year student at Hogwarts.

It was on a Saturday evening at the end of May that he received a message from Minerva that he had been anticipating for a while.

'_Good evening, Severus,  
__Harry Potter seems to have vanished from the Dursleys' home. Albus is devastated. He was planning to begin teaching the boy from the start of the summer holidays onwards. I'd say he is a bit late. I hope you and Sirius are well!  
__Minerva_'

Severus read the message with mixed feelings. '_Thank God that Sirius is safe here in Japan_,' he thought, congratulating himself that the fake copy he had produced from the boy five months ago had lasted for a sufficiently long time. '_Nevertheless, Albus is going to make a ruckus over this_.'

Turning back to the parchment, he wrote a note back to the Scottish lioness.

'_Minerva,  
__Thank you for sharing this information. I hope Albus won't suspect me of having anything to do with Potter's disappearance. Considering that he doesn't know how far away Sirius and I are it might be possible_.  
_SS_'

The answer arrived right away.

'_Severus, I don't think so. If it was the case, Poppy and I could reassure him that you're far away, and in the worst case you can even prove that you haven't been in England since the day before Sirius' birthday. Don't worry. I'll keep you informed anyway.  
__By the way, Sirius told me yesterday that he received two points in his Healing class for performing a spell Poppy taught him at Hogwarts. He really is a sweet child.  
__Minerva_'

Not sure if Minerva had informed Sirius as well, Severus decided to send his son as short message as well.

'_Sirius,  
__Just so you know, the fake copy vanished yesterday. I'm glad we got here in time.  
__Congratulations to your two points in Healing class by the way. I'm proud of you.  
__SS_'

Sirius woke up by the incoming message and sleepily searched for his quill to write back.

'_Dad,  
__You're brilliant. I'm glad for the fake. He surely didn't have a good time with the Dursleys, they are really horrible.  
The two points I received for an easy diagnostic spell Aunt Poppy taught me earlier. Love you, Dad.  
Sirius_'

It was a strange feeling that the beginning of the summer holidays didn't mean the end of the school year. However, everyone was looking forward to the holidays, and Severus realised in surprise that the students were allowed to go home for the four weeks of holidays but could also choose to remain at the school for some of the time, or even for the whole time.

"Many students stay here until they finish their summer assignments, and some of them even offer to help the teachers in order to get additional practice," Healer Ito, with whom Severus had to work together closely, informed the Potions Master, leaving Severus very thoughtful.

When one day Mami Abe asked him if he was an Animagus and could perhaps teach a few older students, Severus had an idea. "I don't think I'm able to teach the Animagus Transformation; however, a good friend of mine is teaching Transfiguration at Hogwarts, and I could invite her to come here and hold an Animagus class during the summer."

"Severus, that's a very good idea," Mami said warmly. "Please ask your friend right away, and if he or she agrees, we'll send an official invitation."

_**A few days later at Hogwarts...**_

Minerva and Poppy entered the Headmaster's office, glad to have been able to catch the Headmaster, since he recently hardly spent any time at the school but was frantically searching the British magical world for a seven-year-old.

"Minerva, Poppy," the Headmaster said in surprise, tiredly stroking his long, white beard. "What gives me the pleasure of your presence?"

Minerva and Poppy exchanged a quick look, before Minerva spoke up. "Albus, I have an invitation to a magical school in Japan to teach a summer course for Animagus Transformations, and I'd like to accept the invitation. Therefore, I'll be absent from the twentieth of July until the end of August. I'll be back a few days before the beginning of the new school year, and Poppy is going to travel together with me."

"I see that you've already made up your mind," Dumbledore replied sadly. "I had hoped you could help me with the search for Harry."

Poppy rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Albus, please think about it. Minerva and I warned you a long time ago. We told you more than once how badly the Dursleys were treating Harry and recommended to take him away from them. It's your fault that he saw fit to run away or whatever he did, assuming that it wasn't his uncle, who did already try to kill him six months ago. It's your fault that the boy had no one to turn to, because you forbade Minerva and me from looking after him. No Albus, I'm sorry, but we can't help you in this matter."

Minerva was just about to take pity of the old wizard, who was slumped in his seat in devastation, when Poppy resolutely pulled her out of the room. "No Minnie, it's his fault that Harry nearly died, and that more than once. We can be glad that Severus saved his life. Albus definitely doesn't need to be cuddled over the apparent disappearance of Harry Potter."

"You are right, Poppy. Very well then; let's go to The Ink Pot to buy a few presents for Severus and Sirius," Minerva replied, quickly making up her mind.

"The Ink Pot? Why not just Flourish and Blotts in Hogsmeade?" Poppy queried in surprise.

Minerva chuckled. "I know that Severus is keeping a wiz2wiz connection with the owner of The Ink Pot. He is a wizard, although people wouldn't easily know considering that he is the owner of a Muggle bookshop. Anyway, he knows exactly what books Severus ordered recently and might be able to give us suggestions for presents to bring to Severus and Sirius," Minerva explained as she waved her wand at her friend and herself to transfigure their clothes into Muggle attire.

Poppy immediately agreed with her friend's arguments, and the two witches left the castle to spend the rest of the day in London.

_**At the Mirai school...**_

"A teacher from Hogwarts will probably come to teach Transfiguration during the holidays," Sirius told Kenji in excitement. "Is it usual that they have classes here during the holidays?"

Kenji chuckled. "I know that this is different outside of Japan, but in Japan holidays are not as they are elsewhere. During the last year, Kazumi and I attended a Muggle primary school, but during the holidays everyone still came to the school each day. We just didn't officially have classes; that's all."

"I love that. It would be quite lonely if everyone was away like during the week before the beginning of the school year, only that it would be for more than a month this time," Sirius replied thoughtfully. "Nevertheless, I'll be glad when the first two weeks of the holidays are over and the Japanese class ends, so that we can spend the rest of the holidays together. I hope I'll pass the test," he added quietly.

"You will," Kenji replied, smiling. "Didn't you notice that we hardly ever speak English anymore? You have both improved a lot, you and Mandy."

"Thank you," Sirius said, giving his friend a grateful look, before a thought that had been bothering him for a while forced itself to the surface of his mind. "I have a question," he began hesitantly. "In our Japanese class, we learned a lot about Japanese culture and the Japanese mentality, but here at the school, everyone behaves just as they behaved at Hogwarts..." He slowly trailed off.

Kenji thoughtfully cleared his throat. "That's true. As you know, my Dad spent quite a while abroad and is very Western oriented. That's why our school is not typical of a Japanese school."

Later in the evening, Sirius discussed the same topic with his father. "As far as I know from Japanese magical schools that I visited for Potions congresses, what your friend told you is true. On the other hand, there are a few differences to Hogwarts, like for example, the fact that the school doesn't close over the holidays or that the Head teachers look after their students much more here. Sometimes, I get the impression as if the students were 'babied' by their teachers."

Sirius chuckled. "We're not babies," he protested, amused. He turned around upon hearing an alert that a wiz2wiz message had arrived.

A small smile played on Severus' lips as he informed him, "Minerva and Poppy are going to arrive tomorrow. We'll contact you through the wiz2wiz, or I will send them to your room when they're free to meet you."

Sirius chuckled again. "Knowing the Abes, they probably won't be free, because they'll 'baby' them until they're ready to fall into bed."

Severus grinned. "That might be true."

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Fortunately, the Abes understood that Sirius wanted to meet Minerva and Poppy as well and invited the two newcomers as well as Severus and the first year quartet into their quarters, so that Sirius had enough time to speak with the two ladies from Hogwarts.

'_As much as I like being here, I really missed them_,' Sirius thought when he went to bed later on. '_Pity that they're only here over the summer_.'

The summer holidays passed quickly and were much busier than Sirius had expected. Even when the Japanese class was finally over, the Abes and Healer Ito took turns taking the small group of foreigners for sightseeing day trips to different places all over Japan. They visited many temples and shrines along with the huge zoo in Tokyo, more beautiful temples in Kyoto, the oldest Japanese capital Nara, where hundreds of deer strolled freely around the city, and the shrine island of Miyajima with the huge Torii standing in the sea.

After these day trips, Mami Abe always stayed a little longer in Kenji's and Sirius' room when she came to say good night to allow Sirius the chance to speak with her if he had questions or wanted to talk about something he had seen, and Sirius often took the opportunity to ask questions.

After the last of the day trips at the end of the holidays, Mami sat on the edge of his bed for a while. "Now tell me Sirius, what was the most interesting thing you saw, or what did you like most?"

Sirius let out a long sigh. "That's difficult," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe it was one of the small gardens in Kyoto, hmm... or Miyajima. No," he suddenly interrupted himself. "It was something else. You know, when you took me to Tokyo before the beginning of the holidays. I loved these Tanabata trees."

Kenji laughed. "Yeah Mum, that was great!"

Mami watched the two excited boys in amusement. In Japan, on the seventh of July, there was a festival called Tanabata, and everywhere around the town bamboo bushes were decorated, on which people could hang small papers, to which they had written their wishes. By chance, the Abes had taken the twins and Mandy and Sirius to Tokyo on the day before Tanabata, and at Kinokuniya, one of the large bookshops, the children had written one piece of paper each and had added it to the huge tree within the shop. She smiled at the memory of how eager the four children had written their slips of paper.

"Maybe we should have a Tanabata tree here at the school next year. I'll speak to the Headmaster about it. Now, will the two of you tell me what you wished for, or is that a secret?" she asked gently, looking curiously at Sirius and Kenji.

"I wished to become a teacher and always be good friends with Kazumi, Mandy and Sirius," Kenji admitted readily, causing Mami and Sirius to smile.

"I wrote..." Sirius' expression darkened visibly as he slowly trailed off.

"What is it?" Mami asked softly. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to though."

"I want to..." A single tear stole itself onto Sirius' cheek.

_

* * *

_

tbc...

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews! I really appreciate them, even if I wasn't able to reply to all of them but decided to hurry on with this chapter instead. _

_Thanks to my husband for beta-ing!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chance Meeting at The Ink Pot **

**by teddylonglong**

_Thanks to my husband for correcting my mistakes. Nevertheless, there might be mistakes left; as you know I'm not a native speaker of English._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

_---------------------------------------------------------------_

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"I'm sorry. It's just so sad. I know Minerva and Poppy only returned to Hogwarts this afternoon, but I'm already missing them," Sirius sobbed. "I wrote that I wished that there were no dark wizards anymore, so that friends can always be together. I think my Dad misses them too."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Sirius," Mami said softly, gently pulling him into a light hug. "I'm glad that they already promised to come back during the summer holidays next year."

"Yeah, that's true," Sirius replied, and his expression lightened a bit. "Thank you, Professor."

"You're welcome, child. Good night." Mami tucked Sirius and Kenji in, kissed Kenji on the forehead and finally left the room to check on the girls, glad that she had decided to visit her own children's rooms last.

_**At Hogwarts**__**, Headmaster's Office...**_

"Ah Minerva and Poppy, how good that you're back," Dumbledore said, offering lemon drops. "There is still no sign of Harry Potter."

Minerva and Poppy exchanged a glance of absolute annoyance, causing the Headmaster to let out a long sigh. "Yes, I know that you're angry at me; however, I need you to believe that I had my reasons for placing Harry with his relatives. Anyway, you know him better than anyone else. You watched over him for several years if I'm informed correctly. Don't you have any idea where he could have been gone? Does he have any friends? Muggle friends? Wizards?"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Harry had no friends. He spent his life alone in his cupboard if he wasn't doing chores or being chased by his cousin and his cousin's friends. His uncle already tried to kill him at Christmas. What makes you so sure that the boy is still alive?"

Dumbledore chuckled and pointed to one of his small glass devices on his desk. "He is alive, and he is not in danger. That I know. However, I don't know where he is. We still have three years until he is supposed to begin Hogwarts, but as you know three years is a short time, and it is important that we find him before he falls into wrong hands."

The two witches let out simultaneous snorts. "Why is it that you're so concerned about Harry after years of neglect?" Poppy asked in disbelief.

The Headmaster sighed as he slowly unwrapped a lemon drop. "We need Harry because of the prophecy, and now with Severus gone..."

"That's your own fault as well," Minerva interrupted him sternly. "The reason why Severus left you was Harry Potter too, wasn't it? Don't tell me you're trying to destroy everyone's life because of such a stupid thing as a prophecy. I don't believe in the prophecy, and Sybil is a fraud anyway. Apart from that, if it's Harry's fate to get rid of Voldemort, then he will, independently of what you or I do here and now."

"Exactly," Poppy agreed.

"We'll speak about it at a different time," Dumbledore replied tiredly. "At four o'clock we're going to have a staff meeting. I'll see you there."

_**At the Mirai School...**_

Severus smiled as his wiz2wiz parchment alerted him to a new message. It was from Minerva.

'_Severus, _

_Albus is going nuts. He won't speak about anything but Harry Potter. And that only because of some stupid prophecy. I don't get it. I wished we'd just stayed in Japan with you and Sirius. I don't want to wake up Sirius, so I won't write to him now, but if you see him in the morning, give him a hug from me. He really is a sweet child. You can be very proud of your son. I'm glad you found such a warm, new nest to settle in. Take care of yourself!_

_Minerva_'

Severus sighed. '_A pity that Minerva is so old_,' he thought, before a small voice at the back of his mind scolded him, '_What are you implying? She has been your teacher during your own Hogwarts time, you pervert_.' He sighed again as he took his quill and began to compose a reply.

'_Minerva,_

_You absolutely must keep this to yourself, but I overheard the prophecy he is speaking of. It says that the Dark Lord and Harry have to fight against each other, and one has to defeat the other. I don't remember the exact wording. It was Sybil's key to the Divination post at Hogwarts._

_Sirius seems to miss you greatly. Mami Abe told me that he was crying earlier, until she told him that you were going to come back next summer._

_Don't let the old coot get to you. The current situation is a result of his own meddling!_

_Severus_'

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Fortunately, Sirius didn't have much time to miss the older witches, because school began again in the morning, and now that his Japanese class was over he had to fully attend the first year classes along with test preparations, homework and reports and became extremely busy. Nevertheless, he enjoyed himself very much. He especially liked Quidditch and Hippolo, which the first years learned in their Sports class.

"Quidditch and Hippolo are the same, only that Hippolo is played riding on hippogriffs," the Sports teacher explained to the class. "Both sports are relatively new and adopted from the British magical world, since we have neither ball games played in the air nor mystic animals like hippogriffs in Japan. However, since former students of our school participated in the Quidditch world cup last year, several other magical schools all over the country began introducing Quidditch and Hippolo from this school year onwards."

'_This is so cool_,' Sirius thought as he whispered to the hippogriff, on which he was riding, "Look, there is the Snitch. Let's go and catch it."

Sirius soon became known as the best Seeker the school had ever seen, and he became good friends with the hippogriff he always rode after trying out a few hippogriffs from the herd and deciding that they could play together as a unit. It was a bit smaller than the others, and the animal caretaker told him that he was the youngest and was called Taiyo. "You're the best, Taiyo-kun," Sirius whispered softly into the hippogriff's ear as he gently stroked the animal's large head.

Upon hearing how much fun Sirius had playing Quidditch, Severus told his colleagues about the Quidditch House tournament at Hogwarts, and the Headmaster decided to think about the matter.

"Our school is too small and due to the different separation, which is by classes and not Houses, it would be difficult to set up a similar tournament," he finally said. "However, we can set up two teams, a red team (_Akagumi_) and a white team (_Shirogumi_), and have them play against each other."

On a sunny Saturday morning, the Headmaster motioned for everyone to head out onto the grounds right after breakfast. He announced the Sports teacher as the Head of the red team and Severus as the Head of the white team and asked the students, who would like to play Hippolo, to join a team.

Sirius quickly stood behind his father, who gave him an encouraging smile. After a few minutes, each team held ten members, and the two Heads of the teams decided to keep the three students that were more than the seven members they needed for each team as reserve players. Sirius was the only first year, who had joined one of the teams, but as sad as he felt about the matter, the prospect of playing Hippolo on a team and having three matches against the red team each school year was just too exciting to dwell on the matter, especially as everyone was allowed to decide on a hippogriff to play on and he was able sign up to use Taiyo for every practice and match.

"Now, we're going to have the first match tomorrow morning," Headmaster Abe announced, causing the teams to panic.

"Very well then, let's begin with our first practice right away," Severus decided quickly and asked each of his team members, which position they wanted to play.

The students quickly decided on their positions, and although Sirius had politely kept back, knowing that he was the youngest and had to wait for the older students to decide, there seemed to be a silent agreement to reserve the Seeker position for him. Everyone had seen him catch the Snitch often enough to know that he was the best Seeker a team could wish for.

On Saturday morning, right before the match, the Abes distributed white and red helmets to the players, and the first years handed out red and white ribbons to the spectators, who then gathered on the red and on the white side of the Quidditch pit. To Sirius' delight, he noticed that all the first years were sitting in the first row of the spectator seats on the white side. '_Well, I'm the only first year to play_,' he thought, feeling very happy for his classmates' support.

Professor Ito refereed the match and set the Snitch free with a flick of his laser wand, before he allowed the hippogriffs to take into the air. "Let's fight together, Taiyo-kun," Sirius whispered to the animal as they flew above the others, searching the sky for the golden Snitch. '_Maybe I should try to become an Animagus and change into a hippogriff in order to be able to understand what he tells me_,' he mused as Taiyo suddenly made a quick move to the left to avoid a Bludger. '_Oops, that was quick_,' Sirius thought,feeling his stomach churn, just as he spotted the Snitch near the goal posts on the red team side.

The whole school observed in amazement as Sirius and Taiyo went into a huge dive only to pull up in time for Sirius to catch the Snitch that was hiding behind the goal.

Professor Ito shot another laser beam into the air and announced, "The white team wins 190:50. Congratulations, white team!"

Professor Abe placed a _Sonorus_ charm on himself, before he announced for everyone to hear, "Dear players, thank you so much for an entertaining Hippolo match. Let's head to the Planetarium to have a victory party for the white team."

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

The next huge event was the twins' birthday on the third of February. "Tomorrow is our birthday. Let's have a party at midnight tomorrow night," Kazumi suggested excitedly, when the four friends were sitting together in the boy's room, doing their homework.

'Oh no; I have to play Hippolo on Saturday morning,' Sirius thought, but didn't voice his thoughts so as not to spoil the fun for the others.

"Wait a moment," Kenji said thoughtfully. "On the day after tomorrow, the Hippolo match is going to take place and Sirius has to play. If we're going to have a midnight party, we should have it tonight instead."

Sirius threw his friend a grateful look, and everyone agreed readily.

"It might be better tonight anyway. Tomorrow, there would be a chance that Mum would suspect us of planning something," Kazumi chuckled. "I'll go and speak with the house-elves," she announced and hurriedly left the room.

"Where are we going to hold the party, and are you going to invite our whole class?" Mandy queried, glancing at Kenji.

"Do you think we could do it outside? A picnic next to the lake would be so cool," Sirius threw in hesitantly.

"You're the best," Kenji said happily. "That's a super idea. All right then, let's go and tell everyone. We'll meet here in our room at midnight."

Giggling and chuckling, the three first years visited their classmates in the other rooms and told everyone about the planned nocturnal adventure. During the rest of the evening, the children couldn't concentrate on their homework anymore, and Sirius was glad when curfew began so he could go to bed. '_If I sleep, midnight will be there much sooner_,' he thought as he stretched out on his bed, suddenly feeling very excited and fully awake.

"Sirius, are you feeling all right?" Professor Abe asked in concern, apparently noticing that something was off with the child.

"Yes Professor, I'm fine," Sirius replied softly, trying hard not to giggle, and threw his roommate a grateful look when he decided to intervene.

"Everything is all right, Mum. We just had a very funny evening. Kazumi is just unbelievable," Kenji explained, causing his mother to look at the boys in relief and finally leave the room.

"Thank you," Sirius said gratefully. "I hope your mother won't come back tonight." With that he anxiously lit the torch next to his bed and reached for his quill and the wiz2wiz parchment on his night table. He was so excited that he didn't only tell Minerva and Poppy about the planned midnight event, but also his father, completely forgetting about the fact that he was a teacher and perhaps should not be informed about an event that clearly broke the school rules.

However, his father returned a most understanding message.

'_Sirius,_

_I will send Cicero to you with a phial. Give each of your classmates one teaspoon of the liquid after your feast and take one yourself. It's a stomach calming potion and will prevent you from feeling sick in the morning due to eating during the night. Have fun and take care, son!_

_Dad_'

Sirius smiled. He had just finished reading when Cicero appeared, handing him a small phial along with a tea-spoon.

"Master Severus sent me to give you this. You need to give everyone one spoonful, and the spoon is self-cleaning. You can use it for everyone."

"A self-cleaning spoon?" Kenji asked in surprise. "That's cool."

"It is," Sirius chuckled. "Thank you so much, Cicero, and please tell Dad thanks from me."

At exactly midnight, the first years gathered in Kenji's and Sirius' room. Kazumi brought a small basket.

"Is that all?" Kenji asked in surprise.

"Well, the elves told me to only open it where we want to have our picnic. Apparently, it becomes larger when you open it," Kazumi replied, frowning.

The first years quietly left the building by a side entrance and made themselves comfortable on the grass next to the lake. Kazumi carefully opened the basket, causing a huge table with enough delicacies to feed the whole school to emerge from the basket. Everyone looked at the food in awe.

"Wait a moment," Mandy said and cast a Silencing spell around the group. "All right. No one will be able to hear us," she explained contentedly, and everyone began to sing the birthday song for the twins.

"Why do we sing an English song?" Sirius asked in surprise.

"Because we normally don't do birthday parties in Japan," one of his Japanese classmates explained. "If we do, we normally use this song."

The children tried to eat a little from everything, but it was just too much, and the self-refilling cups of pumpkin juice were extremely convenient.

Suddenly, Kazumi said, "I'm full. Shall we take a swim in the lake?"

"We don't have any swimming gear with us," her brother objected, causing her to giggle.

"There is not so much you have to hide, and I've seen you before and have told all the other girls about it. Come on now. If we go in here, everyone can come, even if you can't swim, because it's not deep."

With that, everyone laughed and quickly took off their pyjamas, following the girl into the lake. '_Thank God for the silencing charm_,' Sirius mused as he joined the others in a huge water fight.

Too soon, the party was over. Everyone felt full and tired, and Sirius quickly gave his classmates a spoonful of his father's potion, before the children quietly returned to the school.

"Don't we have to clean up?" Sirius asked Kazumi, who was walking next to him, but she tiredly shook her head.

"The house-elves promised me to come and clean up later on. Good night, Sirius. Sleep well."

"Night Kazumi." Sirius fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

In the morning, all the first years missed breakfast, and most of them appeared to their first morning class missing one sock, wearing two different shoes or with their robes inside out. Thankfully, they had neither Charms with Professor Abe nor Potions with Severus on that Friday, and the other teachers didn't comment on the class' strange attire and apparent sleepiness.

In the afternoon, Sirius noticed that he had caught a cold. '_Well, no wonder; it was very cold in the lake last night_,' he thought, pondering if he should go to his father and ask for a potion. However, the Dursleys had taught him for many years not to bother anyone when he was sick, and Sirius decided that they were probably right and he shouldn't be such a baby and run to his father whenever something was wrong. Instead, he went to bed right after dinner, telling Kenji that he wanted to catch up on sleep in order to be fit for the Hippolo match in the morning.

However, Mami found it strange that Sirius was already asleep when she came to check on the children at curfew and, keeping in mind that all of her colleagues, who had taught the first years that day, had complained about her class, she sat on the edge of Kenji's bed and exchanged a few words with her son, who finally grudgingly told her about the party.

"Very well; thank you for telling me, Kenji," his mother said. "I'm still surprised that Sirius is the only one, who is already asleep." She returned to his side and cast a few diagnostic spells on him.

"He wanted to be fit for the Hippolo match in the morning," Kenji explained, causing Mami to throw him a thoughtful look.

"Oh right; well in this case I'm going to ask Severus for a potion instead of taking him to the hospital room. If my spell was accurate, he has caught a cold." She quickly sent a laser message to Severus, who stepped into the room and waved his wand over his son a few minutes later.

"He should be all right by the morning," Severus said, spelling a Pepperup potion into Sirius' system.

"Thank you, Severus. Kenji, tell Sirius to stay in bed until I come and check on him in the morning," his mother instructed him firmly, before she left the room together with Severus.

However, when Kenji woke up on the bright and sunny Saturday morning, he noticed in shock that he had overslept. Breakfast was already over, and Sirius was gone. He hurriedly dressed and headed down to the Quidditch pitch, where the last Hippolo match of the school year had just begun a few minutes earlier. Unfortunately, he arrived just in time to observe how Taiyo made a quick movement to evade a Bludger and Sirius, who seemed to have been inattentive for an instant, lost his grip on the hippogriff and tumbled downwards.

_tbc..._


	11. Chapter 11

**Chance Meeting at The Ink Pot **

**by teddylonglong**

_Thanks to my husband for correcting my mistakes. Nevertheless, there might be mistakes left; as you know I'm not a native speaker of English._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

_---------------------------------------------------------------_

* * *

**Chapter 11**

The whole school watched in shock as the hippogriff quickly descended a few metres and gently grabbed Sirius in his rapid descent towards the ground.

Professor Ito shot a laser beam into the air and called out, "Five minute timeout." He then approached Sirius as soon as Taiyo landed on the ground and asked, "Mr. Snape, are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Sirius replied in spite of feeling very shaky. "It was a bit of a shock, but I want to continue." He leaned forward and gave the hippogriff a light hug. "Taiyo-kun, thank you so much for rescuing me. You're absolutely the best. I'm sorry. It was my fault. I didn't pay attention," he added softly, chuckling as the hippogriff gently licked his right hand.

Unaware of the concerned look Mami Abe threw at Severus, which the Potions Master returned with a calming nod, Sirius and Taiyo leaped back into the air as soon as Professor Ito shot his next laser beam. '_This time, I really have to concentrate_,' Sirius scolded himself as his thoughts once more drifted off to the unsettling news he had received that morning.

_**Flashback – three hours earlier...**_

Sirius had woken up a bit earlier than normal, feeling much better than the evening before. '_Thank God; I wouldn't want to miss the match_,' he thought and looked at the wiz2wiz parchment, noticing that it held several new messages from his father, from Poppy and from Minerva. Severus told him that he had given him a Pepperup potion, Poppy wished him good luck for the match, but Minerva had apparently mistaken Sirius' parchment for Severus'.

'_Severus,  
__Albus seems to be going nuts. He doesn't speak of anything other than of his search for Harry. I think that he even suspects Poppy, you and I to be somehow involved in his disappearance, although he hasn't definitely said so. Today, he told us that he went to the Dursleys for the umpteenth time to question them, but since they weren't helpful at all, he 'punished them adequately' as he expressed it. I don't know what he did. I hope he gets a grip on himself soon. Take care of yourself and Sirius!  
__Minerva_'

'_Dumbledore harmed the Dursleys?_' Sirius thought in shock. '_They didn't do anything to him! They raised me, well, perhaps not too well, but they did. They didn't really harm me, and now they were punished by a wizard for my actions. I need to speak with Dad about it. Maybe there is something we can do for them. But not now_,' he decided. Not feeling hungry in the least, he decided to skip breakfast and headed out to cuddle with Taiyo before the Hippolo match.

_**End of flas**__**hback.**_

'_Oh no, my thoughts are drifting off again_,' Sirius realised and tried hard to concentrate on searching for the Snitch. However, it took him two more hours, before he could finally close his hands around the struggling little ball.

"The white team wins!" Professor Ito shouted to huge applause. "350:260 for the white team." As soon as Sirius landed on the ground, Professor Ito turned to him. "Mr. Snape, please follow me to the infirmary for a quick check-up."

"No," Sirius replied, horrified. "Please, Professor, I have something really urgent to discuss with my father." He threw Severus a pleading look.

"I'll take my son with me to my quarters for a while, and I'll check on him. I'll bring him to you if necessary," Severus said firmly, causing Mami to nod her agreement after a look at Sirius, who was trying to hide behind Severus' robes.

"Such a fall can be dangerous, even if he didn't hit the ground," Ito growled, glaring at Severus and Mami.

Severus and Mami exchanged a few quiet words, before Severus laid his arm around Sirius' back and said, "Let's go."

"Thank you, Dad, from saving me from Professor Ito," Sirius said gratefully when they reached his father's quarters, causing Severus to raise an eyebrow. His expression turned into concern as Sirius continued, "Dumbledore did something to the Dursleys. Is there anything we can do to help them? I can't have them being hurt or whatever because of me."

"Sirius, please tell me the truth. Are you feeling unwell?" Severus asked worriedly, and before Sirius knew what happened, a cool, slender hand found its way onto his forehead. "You're still a bit warm, but not enough to be delirious," Severus said thoughtfully.

Sirius sighed. "Dad, I'm fine. There was a note from Minerva. I think she got confused with our parchments and sent it to me. Dumbledore took revenge on the Dursleys for losing me or something like that. It didn't sound as if he had killed them, but..." He trailed off, throwing his father a helpless look.

"Maybe he transfigured them into something," Severus said thoughtfully. "I don't think Professor Dumbledore would go as far as kill someone, and whatever else he might have done to them, I believe that it serves them right." Seeing that Sirius still didn't seem convinced, he suggested, "Shall I contact Minerva and try to find out some more, while you go and take a nap?"

"Yes please," Sirius agreed. "May I...?" he longingly glanced towards his own room.

"Of course. Go ahead, I'll just scribble a message to Minerva, and then I'll come and check on you."

'_Minerva,  
__What exactly did you tell Sirius about Albus and the Dursleys? He is very much in distress. Could you please explain the details to me?  
__Severus_.'

Glancing at his watch, he realised that it was only five o'clock in the morning in Scotland, and Minerva might still be asleep. Sighing inwardly, he stepped into Sirius room, noticing in concern that the child was lying in bed with his eyes closed. He quickly pointed his wand at the boy's head, before he sat on the edge of the bed and whispered, "Sirius? Are you awake?"

Sirius opened his eyes. "Yes Dad," he said softly, reaching for Severus' hand.

"Sirius, why exactly did you fall off the hippogriff? Were you thinking about the matter with the Dursleys?"

"Yes," Sirius admitted in a small voice. "I'm sorry. I know that I have to pay more attention."

"That's true," Severus replied, showing his son a small smile, before he asked in concern, "Sirius, does your head or your ears hurt from the fall ?"

Sirius swallowed twice, before he admitted quietly, "Both hurt a bit, but it's not from the fall. They already hurt before the match."

"Sure?" Severus quirked an eyebrow, giving the child a sharp look.

"Yes."

"All right, then it's only from your cold. You're still running a slight fever, too. I'll give you another dose of Pepperup potion, and you should be all right later on." He left the room, only to return an instant later with a small goblet.

"Uh," Sirius said in disgust, greedily gulping down the pumpkin juice his father handed him. "I hate the steam coming out of everywhere."

Severus chuckled. "At least it'll help. Now sleep for a while, and by the time you wake up it'll be gone. I'll be right out here. Call me if you need me."

"Thank you, Dad," Sirius mumbled softly, already drifting off to sleep.

Sirius woke up a few hours later, feeling completely refreshed and fine. However, the thought of the Dursleys pushed itself in front of his mind as soon as he scrambled out of bed. He made his way into the living room, where Severus was grading homework.

"Hi Dad. Did you find out anything about the Dursleys?"

Severus threw him a sharp look. "Are you feeling better?" Seeing Sirius nod, he explained, "Minerva promised to ask Mrs. Figg to find something out about the Dursleys. She'll inform us as soon as she knows more, and she is very sorry for accidentally sending the message to you."

"I'm glad I got to know about it," Sirius replied in a small voice. "Dad, may I stay here with you tonight?"

"Of course," Severus replied in surprise. "I'll inform Professor Abe."

"Thank you," Sirius said gratefully and settled down on the sofa.

'_How can this affect him so much?_' Severus wondered, realising that Sirius still wasn't his usual cheery self. '_After all that the Dursleys did to him_.' "Shall we play a round of wizard's chess?" he suggested, causing Sirius to readily agree.

It was only later in the evening that a reply came from Minerva.

'_Severus,  
__I'm sorry it took me so long. Arabella found out that Albus must have cast a spell on them that makes their son Dudley look like Harry, however only to the Dursleys. I believe that's much less than they deserved. What do you think? I hope you can calm down Sirius with this information.  
__Minerva_'

Sirius sighed in relief as Severus finished reading Minerva's note to him. "Well, I'm still sorry for them, but at least he didn't harm them."

Sirius spent the night in his own room in his father's quarters and was surprised that he enjoyed being at home more than he had expected. '_Now that I'm used to living together with the others, I should spend the weekend with Dad more often_,' he resolved as he returned to the room he shared with Kenji on Sunday afternoon, because he still had homework to do that was due on Monday morning.

The remaining weeks of the school year passed uneventfully, and on the first of March, all the students gathered on the grounds and took a Portkey home. Sirius looked at the small group of people that were remaining at the school. He was the only student apart from the twins, and although he was looking forward to spending the holidays with his father, he knew that he was going to miss his friends.

"Sirius," Mami Abe suddenly appeared next to him and gently laid her arm around his shoulders. "You already know that our quarters are right next to yours and that you're welcome to play with Kazumi and Kenji at anytime, don't you?"

"Yes, thank you, Professor," Sirius replied, smiling.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

The few weeks of holidays passed in what seemed to be the blink of an eye, and soon, the new school year was upon them. Sirius and his friends felt very big now as second-year students, and Sirius realised happily that Professor Abe remained their Head of year. Although he liked all the teachers, Mami was not only his best friends' mother but also especially nice.

Sirius' second and third year passed relatively uneventfully with more classes, more homework and several Hippolo matches. Most of them were won by the white team, and Sirius never failed to catch the Snitch even once. Minerva and Poppy came to the Mirai school each summer, and while Minerva taught the older students the Animagus Transformation, Poppy spent the time in the hospital room with Professor Ito, who willingly agreed to teach her Laser Healing magic.

However, from the middle of Sirius' fourth year onwards, the time at which he would have officially entered Hogwarts as a first year, the news that came from Hogwarts caused Severus and Sirius to worry about their friends and their home country.

Minerva had already told Severus about the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Quirinus Quirrell, who was stuttering and wearing a smelly turban, as well as about a three-headed dog that was guarding the Philosopher's Stone, which Dumbledore had decided to hide at Hogwarts. However, it was on the first of November that Severus received the first really unsettling news from Minerva.

'_Severus,  
__Last night was absolutely crazy. First of all, someone let a mountain troll into the castle. The troll nearly killed a Gryffindor boy, who barely survived and is at St. Mungo's now, and then Quirinus was injured by the three-headed dog. I don't know why he went near the dog, but according to Quirinus, it was to make sure that the troll wouldn't attack the dog, which I highly doubt. Think yourself lucky that you and Sirius are far away from this madhouse. Take care of yourself!  
__Minerva_'

Severus pondered if he should tell Sirius about the matter, but dismissed the thought. '_As long as nothing happens to Minerva or Poppy, he doesn't have to know. He is busy enough with all his classes, homework and Hippolo_,' he decided. However, he spoke with the Abes about the matter. They were the only people, apart from Minerva and Poppy, who were informed about Sirius' true identity, and Severus knew that he could fully rely on the Headmaster and his wife to keep the matter to themselves and to support Sirius and him if need be.

"Does Sirius know about the prophecy?" Mami asked one evening, when Severus and the Abes were having tea together in their quarters.

"No," Severus replied firmly. "He knows that he is famous under his old name and is aware of the fact that Professor Dumbledore is searching for him, because he thinks of him as the saviour of the magical world. But Sirius doesn't know the exact reason, and at the moment, I can't see any reason why I should tell him."

"No. It's better for him if he doesn't have to worry about such things," Mami agreed softly. "I'm glad that he has adapted so well and is so happy here."

"Which is mainly thanks to you and your children," Severus said gratefully.

"It is also because of you, Severus," Mami replied. "As you know, I talk to the children of my class every night, and I have noticed that Sirius has been in distress a few times. But whenever this happened, he always chose to spend the weekend in your quarters, only to come back refreshed and his usual cheerful self on Sunday evenings. You are a very good father, Severus. No one, who doesn't know that Sirius is not your real son, would even suspect that he might be adopted."

The Headmaster sighed. "Severus, if you ever need to bring any of your friends to safety because of how things develop in your country, please feel free to bring them here. We'll surely be able to help them or assign them some work here at our school."

Severus slightly inclined his head. "Thank you, Headmaster. My only real friends are Minerva and Poppy, and I appreciate the offer very much."

Abe chuckled. "They are very tough though. I already offered them to remain here instead of returning to Hogwarts twice, but they always refused, telling me that they didn't want your old Headmaster to have a heart attack because of their leaving, considering that he was already suffering from the loss of you and Harry Potter."

"Their opinion might change in time," Severus replied darkly. "I'm afraid that the Dark Lord is not really gone and is re-emerging to regain power," he said thoughtfully, and he tentatively told the Headmaster and his wife about his Dark Mark.

To his great relief, the Abes seemed to believe everything, including his role as a spy. "I'm sorry, Severus, but can you show me the Dark Mark?" the Headmaster asked carefully, causing Severus to hesitantly roll up his left sleeve.

"I wonder if Professor Ito will be able to do something about the Mark with laser magic," he said thoughtfully. "Severus, would it be all right for you if I asked him without telling him about you and your Mark in detail? I completely trust him."

"If you believe that it is safe, of course," Severus replied, sighing as he pushed his sleeve back down. "I made some grave mistakes in my youth," he said darkly.

"But as far as I know from Sirius and your former colleagues, you have done more than make up for them," Mami replied in a soft voice, gently patting his right arm.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

The following six months passed fairly uneventfully without any more disturbing news from Scotland. Only at the beginning of Sirius' fifth year at the Mirai school, something happened that no one seemed to have expected.

It was a few weeks before the beginning of the summer holidays, and Sirius was looking forward to the holidays, knowing that Minerva and Poppy would be coming soon to spend the summer holidays with them as usual. However, one morning, he was just sitting in the Planetarium, having breakfast together with his friends, when his scar suddenly erupted in pain. He let out a small moan and gripped his head, before he collapsed, unconscious.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for accepting that I took this story to Japan and for your kind reviews!_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chance Meeting at The Ink Pot **

**by teddylonglong**

_Thanks to my husband for beta-ing._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

_-----_

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Severus, Mami Abe and Professor Ito rushed to Sirius' side, but Severus was the first to reach the unconscious twelve-year-old. He gently scooped him up into his arms.

"It's his scar," he said in shock, "it's bleeding." He looked at the scar that was deeply red on the boy's forehead. Drops of blood were leaking from the scar in several places, and Sirius' forehead felt extremely hot to the touch.

"A scar is not supposed to bleed," Ito growled. "Let's take him to the infirmary. Mami, ask the Headmaster to cancel my first morning class."

"Of course and I will also ask him to take over Severus' classes for the time being," Mami replied softly.

Severus hurried behind his colleague and laid Sirius on an empty bed, feeling very reassured when Ito immediately switched into Healer's mode and began to wave his wand over Sirius several times. However, ten minutes later, the professor had still yet to speak, and Severus was just on the verge of beginning to worry when Ito slid his wand back into his robes.

"I can't find anything wrong," he said thoughtfully, "apart from the fact that his scar seems to be infected and he has a bad headache and a fever. Please explain about his scar. Is it a magical connection to someone?"

Severus let out a deep sigh and told his colleague everything about the scar, remembering that the Headmaster had said he trusted the Healer completely. The man nodded in understanding, before he fetched two phials from his office, apparently knowing that he didn't have to tell the Potions Master that it was a headache potion and a fever reducer, and proceeded to spell both potions into Sirius' system.

"I suggest that we wake him up and ask if he knows anything," he then suggested, causing Severus to nod his agreement, while his thoughts went haywire.

'_Something must have happened_,' he thought in concern. '_This scar can only connect him to the Dark Lord. He must have come back to life somehow. I need to urgently contact Minerva and ask her_.' He quietly observed how the Healer roused Sirius with a gentle wave of his laser wand.

Sirius immediately gripped his forehead and began to whimper.

"Does it still hurt?" Ito asked and slightly waved his laser wand over the child, watching as a very weak laser beam slowly engulfed the scar in a green light and finally vanished into the scar. "Is that better?"

"Thank you, Professor. That's much better," Sirius replied miserably, turning to his father. "Dad, I don't know what happened, but I can hear a man. He laughs all the time and seems to be very happy. Dad, am I going crazy?"

Severus sat on the edge of Sirius' bed and gently gripped the boy's hand. "No Sirius, you are not crazy. Your scar probably connects you to the Dark Lord, and I am afraid that he somehow managed to come back. But I'm not sure. I will contact Minerva and ask her if she knows what might have happened this morning."

"Thank you, Dad," Sirius replied gratefully. "May I go to class now?"

Severus shot his colleague a questioning look, before he asked, "Does it still hurt?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, it doesn't hurt anymore, although I can still hear him laugh. He seems to think that he is immortal now. I don't know... Is it possible that I can hear his thoughts?"

"That might be possible," Severus said thoughtfully. "You should not be alone in case it happens again. What is your first morning class?"

"Charms."

"You may attend classes, but if you feel worse, you will tell your teacher and come back here at once," Professor Ito barked. "You will also come here for a check-up after your last morning class. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," Sirius replied firmly, knowing that the Healer was much nicer than he pretended to be.

"Well, I'll take you to the Charms classroom and have a word with Professor Abe," Severus said and escorted his son to his first morning class. When they reached the classroom, he stopped walking. "Sirius, please tell someone if you feel worse and make sure that you're not alone. I will meet you in the infirmary after the last morning class. Until then I hope that I have a reply from Hogwarts about what might have happened."

"All right Dad and don't worry. I'm fine now. I can still hear him, but he can't harm me here, can he?" Sirius asked, smothering his robes with his right hand.

"I don't think he can harm you over the distance, son," Severus said calmingly against his better judgment and silently opened the classroom door. After a few words with Mami Abe he returned to his office to contact Minerva, while the Headmaster was teaching his first morning class. '_At least he is a Potions Master unlike Albus, who only taught the students to brew lemon drops whenever he took over my classes_,' he thought as he attacked the wiz2wiz parchment with his quill.

It took several hours, before he received a reply from Hogwarts.

'_Severus,_

_Something horrible happened. The Philosopher's stone was stolen and Quirinus Quirrell vanished without a trace. We are not sure if he managed to acquire the stone or if he was stealing it for someone else under the Imperius curse. So far we had hoped that it had nothing to do with Voldemort; however, after reading your message I know better. Oh Severus, what are we going to do? Will the next war commence with this? I'm at a loss, and I think Albus is going nuts in his 'search for Harry frenzy'. I hope that Sirius will be all right. Poppy and I are looking forward to going to Japan again soon. Take care Severus,_

_Minerva_'

'_That's what I feared_,' Severus thought, unconsciously playing with the quill in his hand, before he composed a reply.

'_Minerva,_

_Please consider remaining here at the Mirai school after the summer. I already spoke with the Abes about the Dark Lord a few years ago, and the Headmaster offered you and Poppy positions here at the school. I can understand that you want to take pity on Albus and remain at Hogwarts, but please leave as long as you can. Sirius and I are your friends as well, and we are both very worried about you._

_Severus_'

With that he put down the quill and headed to the classroom as he realised that the first morning class was just over. He quickly told the Headmaster what had happened, causing the man to give him a shocked look.

"Severus, may I please use your brilliant wiz2wiz connection to write a few lines to Minerva?" he queried, prompting Severus to lead the Headmaster into his office. "I wish to try to talk her into staying with us for the next school year."

"Just write on the parchment, Headmaster. I am not sure how fast Minerva will reply though, considering that it is the middle of the night in Britain. I received her last answer about twenty minutes ago though. Thank you for taking over my first morning class."

"Anytime, Severus, anytime," the Headmaster said firmly, patting Severus' arm. "Please inform me about Minerva's reply later on."

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

In the meantime, Sirius was trying hard to concentrate on his classes. Due to the potions and the laser spell Professor Ito had cast on him, his scar didn't hurt anymore and he could merely feel a dull ache behind his temples. However, he still felt someone's emotions and couldn't help worrying what was happening at home. '_Oh well, as much as I loved Prince Manor and Hogwarts, when we lived there, in fact our quarters here at the Mirai school are my home now_,' he mused, absently observing his classmates try to practise a new charm.

Suddenly, Kazumi's voice penetrated Sirius' mind. "Sirius, are you feeling all right? Shall I take you back to your room so you can rest for a while?"

"No thank you. Dad and Professor Ito said I shouldn't be alone," Sirius whispered and looked up, only now realising that his teacher was speaking with him and not her daughter. '_Oh no, I'm seeing things_,' he thought in confusion.

"I understand. I will excuse Kazumi and Kenji from their classes today. They will stay with you, and I'll collect your homework for the three of you," Mami Abe said firmly and exchanged a few words with the twins, who readily jumped from their seats and escorted Sirius back to Kenji's and his room.

The three children spent the rest of the morning sitting on Kenji's bed talking about everything that Sirius knew about the Dark Lord, before they headed to the infirmary for Sirius' check-up and had lunch at the Planetarium. '_If I understood correctly what Dad told me, someone stole a stone to become immortal_,' Sirius mused as he absentmindedly played with the rice in his bowl. '_That probably means that the Dark Lord is immortal now. If it was anyone else, I wouldn't have been able to sense it, and the man I heard can only be the Dark Lord, because I'm connected to him through the scar. He has calmed down now though, but maybe that just means that he's asleep now. It's still very early in the morning in Britain_.' He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice that the teachers were observing him like hawks, and he jumped when his father approached him from behind and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Sirius. It was not my intention to startle you," Severus apologized. "You and the twins are excused from your afternoon classes as well. Go back to your room and try to sleep for a while. Hopefully you'll feel better afterwards."

"I'm fine," Sirius protested weakly but was immediately interrupted by Kazumi.

"Yes, we know that, but do you think Mum often allows us to skip classes?" she asked, smirking, causing everyone to laugh.

"Exactly; let's use the opportunity and plan our summer holidays," Kenji agreed immediately.

However, when they returned to their room, the twins insisted that Sirius had to take a nap first, and Sirius more or less gratefully complied. Unfortunately, after sleeping peacefully for two hours, he began to dream.

He found himself in a very dark room. A man, completely dressed in black, stepped in front of him and bowed deeply.

"_Welcome back, my Lord," he said in a very polite voice. "Your followers have been missing you badly. What can I do for you, my Lord?"_

"_Find out if Dumbledore knows that I managed to take the stuttering professor's body and gained immortality, find out where the Potter brat is and get me that damn prophecy, Lucius," Sirius heard himself snarl, before he pulled a wand out of his robe pocket and hissed a spell that made the man wriggle on the floor in front of him. At the same time, Sirius' own body erupted in pain._

"Sirius, wake up!" He heard Kazumi's voice and felt himself being pulled out of his dream.

"I'm going to be sick," he muttered, gratefully noticing that someone conjured a bucket right in time for his stomach to empty its contents.

"Sirius, what happened?" Mami Abe asked in concern as she gently wiped his sweaty face with a cool cloth.

"I had a dream, but I think I need to tell Dad," Sirius mumbled, sighing in relief as he saw the teacher send a laser beam. Only a few minutes later, Severus entered the room, and Sirius told him about his dream.

"I believe that was not a dream but a vision. Through your scar you were pulled into the Dark Lord's mind, and you witnessed his conversation with Lucius Malfoy, one of his most trusted Death Eaters," Severus said gravely. "However, what concerns me most is that you apparently felt the Cruciatus curse, which he cast at Malfoy." Turning to Mami, he added in a quiet voice, "If you observe him closely, you will see that his limbs are still slightly shaking. He seems to have come in the whoosh of the curse. I need to brew the Cruciatus potion for him. Sirius, I'll be back with the potion in an hour."

"I'll send my husband to assist," Mami replied and quickly sent a laser beam to the Headmaster, who readily helped Severus to prepare the ingredients in order to finish the potion for Sirius as quickly as possible.

During the two weeks until the beginning of the holidays, Sirius frequently suffered through visions, in which Voldemort spoke to his followers and often enough punished them with curses. Severus finally put Sirius under a charm that alerted him as soon as his son was in distress, so that he was able to help him quickly, if Kenji hadn't already woken up and given him the Anti Cruciatus potion.

Severus, the Headmaster and Professor Ito spent much time discussing a possible method of removing or at least deactivating Sirius' scar with magical laser technology. Unfortunately, they couldn't come up with an effective solution.

"During the holidays, I will do some intense research on the matter," Professor Ito promised. "Maybe Poppy will be able to assist since she is interested in learning about laser healing methods anyway. Secretly, I wished she would remain here as our Healer, so that I could fully concentrate on teaching Laser Magic," he said, unaware of how soon his wish was going to become true. "In any case, I need Sirius to come here occasionally, so that I can try out new spells that could work on his scar. Don't worry," he added, turning to Severus. "I will not put your son into danger."

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

On the last day of classes before the summer holidays, Minerva and Poppy arrived from Hogwarts. Since Severus still had classes to teach, the Headmaster travelled to the international Flooport and brought the guests to the Mirai school.

Upon seeing Severus later in the afternoon, Minerva burst into tears. "Severus, we brought all the portraits and everything we could save from Hogwarts with us. I feel so bad about leaving Albus in the school, but he didn't want to leave. He is not even considering closing Hogwarts, although the Death Eaters are slowly beginning to take over everything in Britain. They have already taken over the Ministry with Lucius Malfoy as Minister, and I'm sure by the beginning of the new school year they will have taken over Hogwarts as well. Albus is crazy I'm afraid. He told me he had to save Hogwarts and that he had to wait for Harry to show up at Hogwarts. I don't know what I can do to help him. I told him to send Fawkes if there was any news."

Severus calmingly rubbed his former teacher's back. "It's all right, Minerva. You couldn't do any more. I'm just glad that the two of you are safe."

"I'll go and speak with Professor Dumbledore," Sirius spoke up firmly. "I can't have him put himself into danger to wait for me, while I am here safe and sound."

A multiple, "No!" followed his statement as everyone in the room turned to him in shock. "Sirius, you won't go anywhere. This is Professor Dumbledore's own fault. Your father warned him before he brought you here, and Aunt Poppy and I warned him several times. This is not your fault, sweetie," Minerva said, pulling Sirius in a bear hug.

"Minerva, you said that you brought portraits from Hogwarts," the Headmaster efficiently changed the topic.

"Yes, we brought all the portraits that hung in the corridors as well as those guarding the entrances to the common rooms or classrooms and everything that was decorating the Great Hall, the staff room and our private quarters," Minerva explained.

"Feel free to decorate the halls here," Abe said, chuckling.

Severus cleared his throat. "Minerva, we must be careful not to place any portrait in the halls here that might be able to report our position to Albus," he said thoughtfully.

"Oh believe us, Severus. We left the portraits of the former Headmasters that could communicate with their portraits in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts," Poppy threw in, grinning.

To the students' surprise and amusement, the two guests from Britain, whom the Headmaster introduced as the new Transfiguration teacher and the new Healer, spent the rest of the day decorating the halls with portraits that caught everyone's attention.

It was a few minutes before curfew that Minerva, Poppy, Severus, Professor Ito and the Headmaster put the last portrait up on the wall. Poppy smiled at the figure of Helga Hufflepuff, who had watched over her office for many years. "Well, I hope you like your position in my new office," she told the older witch, causing Professor Ito to smirk.

"You better like it, because I'm going to teach Poppy magical laser healing," he sneered.

"Very well. Thank you for your help, everyone. Let's meet in our quarters in an hour," the Headmaster said, and the teachers returned to their respective offices and quarters for the time being.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Sirius, Mandy and the twins, who had gone for a walk through the halls, suddenly realised that they were running late and curfew had already begun. "Thank God Mum always comes to our room last," Kenji said, chuckling, causing the others to grin. "Nevertheless, we should hurry up."

The four friends ran through the empty halls, stopping dead in their tracks as they saw one of the older students practise laser magic in front of the Planetarium.

"He is one of the seventh years; he should know better than to practise laser magic in the halls," Kazumi muttered and was just on the verge of shouting at the older boy, when a tabby cat came from behind and dashed through the hall towards the teachers' quarters.

Unfortunately, the seventh year chose exactly that moment to shoot another laser beam across the hall, and the four fifth years observed in shock as the red light hit the cat squarely in the chest, causing the cat to topple onto the floor, where it remained unmoving.

'_That's Aunt Minerva in her Animagus form_,' Sirius realised, horrified.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews!_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chance Meeting at The Ink Pot **

**by teddylonglong**

_Thanks to my husband for beta-ing. Thank you very much for your kind reviews!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

_-----_

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Sirius and Kazumi dashed over to where the tabby cat was lying on the floor, while Mandy and Kenji ran to fetch Professor Ito. The older student quickly fled from the hall. Suddenly, the cat opened her eyes, letting out a soft miaow.

"Aunt Minerva, are you all right?" Sirius asked in concern. "Can you try to transform back, or shall I take you to the infirmary?"

Slower than usual, the Transfiguration professor changed back into her human form. She took a step over to Sirius and grabbed his shoulder, leaning heavily onto the boy.

"Professor!" Kazumi exclaimed with a mixture of shock and amazement on her face. "That must have been a de-aging spell. Are you in a lot of pain?" She quickly transfigured a sweet, which she found in her robe pocket, into a chair and motioned for the teacher to sit down.

"A de-aging spell?" Minerva queried in disbelief as she slowly lowered herself onto the chair.

"Wow, Aunt Minerva, you look gorgeous," Sirius blurted out, just when Professor Ito, Poppy and Severus came running along the corridor, stopping dead in their tracks at the sight of Minerva.

Poppy quickly waved her wand over her friend, chuckling as she put it away and made Minerva drink a pain relieving potion. "Congratulations Minerva, you managed to get yourself de-aged by thirty-five years."

"Thank you, Poppy," Minerva replied, dazedly. "Do you have a way to reverse the spell?"

"If we find the culprit and find out which spell he cast on you, it won't be a problem. Do you still have the memories of your older self?" Ito queried, casting a diagnostic spell, before he slid his laser wand back into his robes.

"Yes, I remember that we put up all the paintings, and I wanted to get back to my room quickly; so I chose my cat form," Minerva replied. "And I know everything about the recent developments at Hogwarts."

"In that case, why would you want to reverse the spell?" Severus spoke up in a soft voice. "I have to agree with my son. You look fantastic."

Minerva looked up in surprise, finding a rare smile on the Potions Master's face. "Maybe you're right," she said quietly. "Let me sleep on it."

"And the four of you," Severus turned to the students, "better return to your rooms, before we realise that it's already after curfew and take points from your class."

The four friends exchanged a shocked glance and hurried back to their rooms, making an unspoken agreement to meet in Sirius' and Kenji's room to discuss the event as soon as Mami Abe had left.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

During the following weeks, the news coming from Britain was disturbing. Since Minerva and Poppy had moved to Japan and his source of information had dried up, Severus had bribed the owner of The Ink Pot to provide him with a copy of the Daily Prophet through the wiz2wiz connection every day. '_Thank God no one except for him, Minerva, Poppy and Sirius know about my invention_,' he thought, '_so that I don't have to fear that someone might want to break my connection_.' Normally, the newspaper arrived just before lunchtime, and Severus used to separate the newspaper from his parchments and took it to the Planetarium to read it together with his colleagues, who were all concerned about the situation in Britain.

One day, a huge picture of Albus Dumbledore looked at them from the front page together with the headline, '_Albus Dumbledore, former Headmaster of Hogwarts, admitted to the psychopathic ward of St. Mungo's_.'

The text under the photo explained, '_Albus Dumbledore has apparently gone nuts. As we know from reliable sources, he has been looking for Harry Potter, the boy who lived, for several years. When Potter did not show up at Hogwarts for his schooling one year ago, Dumbledore began to become depressed, and since his most trusted Deputy Headmistress resigned a few weeks ago, he is said to have become crazy. We wish Albus Dumbledore all the best in the wizarding hospital. Continue on page 5 for information about Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and Tom Riddle, the new Headmaster of Hogwarts._'

"Oh no! That's my fault," Minerva blurted out in shock. "What can I do?" She looked at Severus as if the Potions Master was able to help.

"The Dark Lord has become the Headmaster," Severus said, slowly exhaling the air. '_I wonder why. What does it want at Hogwarts?_' he thought. "Minerva, it's not your fault, and there is nothing that we can do about the matter at this time." He absentmindedly laid his arm around Minerva's back, pulling her close to gently wipe away the tears that leaked from her eyes in sorrow for the fate of her old friend.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

The teachers' second source of information was Sirius. Nearly every night, the boy woke up after seeing visions of Voldemort speaking with one or more of his Death Eaters, who were slowly taking over the school. One night, he woke up in extreme distress.

"Sirius, are you all right? Do you need the anti-cruciatus potion?" Kenji asked in concern, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"No, but I'm going to be sick," Sirius mumbled, only to empty the contents of his stomach into a bucket, which he had made a habit of always keeping next to his bed since he began to have visions. "Dad," he moaned, shivering, as Severus entered the room.

The Potions Master thanked Kenji profusely, before he took his place next to Sirius and asked quietly, "What happened? Do you want me to cast the Legilimens spell and watch the scene?"

"Yes please," Sirius whispered and looked straight into Severus' eyes in order to share the horrible vision, in which he had seen Death Eaters kill the families of Muggle born students, who had been attending Hogwarts up until a few weeks ago.

"I'm sorry that you had to watch this," Severus said softly. "Sirius, do you need a headache potion?"

"Dad, is there anything we can do to warn other families of Muggle born students? Can we save them and ask them to come here? We could make space for them. It wouldn't be a problem," Sirius suggested, reaching for his father's hand.

"I will speak with Minerva, Poppy and the Abes tomorrow morning. "You're right. We should try to help them, if it's only that we bring the students here for the time being," Severus said thoughtfully. "Do you think you'll be able to go back to sleep? Shall I give you a potion?"

"No, I don't want to sleep anymore," Sirius said in determination. "What time is it?"

"It's half past four in the morning. Do you want to join me in the lab?" The Potions Master raised an eyebrow, realising that the edges of Sirius' mouth pulled slightly upwards.

"I'd like that... If it's all right for you," he replied hesitantly.

The two Snapes spent the next few hours in the Potions lab brewing a few potions for the infirmary, before Severus glanced at his wrist watch, noticing that it was time to head to the Planetarium for breakfast.

"Dad, I'm not hungry. I'll go back to bed and try to sleep some more," Sirius said in a small voice when they arrived in front of the dining hall. "I hope that the Dark Lord will be asleep by now."

Severus eyed his son in concern, before he relented, "All right then; call Cicero when you wake up; he'll bring you breakfast."

Sirius nodded and returned to his room, feeling so tired that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. By the time he woke up, Mandy, Kazumi and Kenji were sitting on Kenji's bed, talking in hushed voices.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked sleepily, scrambling out of his bed.

"We were waiting for you. Mum promised to take us on a hippogriff ride to the beach," Kenji replied in excitement. "Are you well enough and ready to go?"

"Of course," Sirius replied eagerly, hurriedly throwing his robes over. "I'm sorry for making you wait. You should have woken me up."

Mami Abe and the four students headed out onto the grounds, and Sirius gently hugged Taiyo. "Taiyo-kun, we're going for a flight to the seaside. Would you mind taking me there?"

Taiyo carefully rubbed his head against Sirius' robes, before he gently licked his hand. "Thank you, Taiyo-kun. I wouldn't want to ride any other hippogriff," Sirius said quietly and mounted the hippogriff.

Half an hour later, the small group arrived at the seaside. Sirius had never before seen a magical resort and realised in surprise that they were able to leave the animals with a caretaker, who promised to look after the hippogriffs while they were on the beach. The four children had much fun, playing on the beach and swimming in the shallow, warm water. For lunch they had O-den, a Japanese delicacy consisting of Tofu, radish, potatoes and eggs. Sirius, who was very hungry since he had missed breakfast, tucked in with gusto, as it was absolutely delicious.

"In other places of Japan, they eat O-den with mustard, but here we use Miso," Kazumi explained, apparently thoroughly enjoying the meal on the beach. They only returned to the Mirai school in time for dinner.

"Can we come here again and bring my father, Aunt Minerva and Aunt Poppy?" Sirius asked Mami on their way back to the hippogriffs.

"We can ask them," Mami replied gently, playfully ruffling his hair. "I'm glad that you enjoyed the day," she said, smiling at the excited boy. "It was a good idea to go to the beach today. I'm glad that we managed to make him forget his horrible visions at least for a few hours," she told Kazumi when Sirius was out of hearing distance.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

At dinner, the Headmaster addressed everyone, who had remained in the school over the summer. "By chance we received the news that Death Eaters have taken over Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland and that they're now attacking Muggle born students and their families all over Britain," he explained. "Professors McGonagall, Snape and I therefore decided to send house-elves to all the other Muggle born students, who were attending Hogwarts up until the beginning of the summer holidays. We decided to offer these families a temporary home at our school. The house-elves will take a letter explaining the situation as well as a Portkey to the families, and all those, who want to come to our school, while the war in Britain continues, will arrive here by Portkeys the day after tomorrow. Your teachers will magically build a house at the far end of our school grounds for the families of the students, while we're going to enlarge our year common rooms and add additional rooms for the students. Please help us with the organisation if necessary, and please help our guests to feel at home as quickly as possible."

Huge applause erupted when the Headmaster finished his brief monologue.

'_Thank God they're so nice here. At least now I know that the horrible vision I had last night was good for something_,' Sirius thought as he returned to his own room together with his friends. Unfortunately, as soon as he lay down in bed, the images of his vision pushed themselves back to the surface of his mind. '_I don't want to sleep_,' he thought, panicking. '_What if the Dark Lord kills more Muggles_?'

"Professor," he spoke up in a barely audible voice when Mami came to tuck him in, "may I perhaps stay up a bit longer and visit my father?"

The professor sat on the edge of his bed, gently pushing an errand strand of hair from his face. "Sirius, you need to sleep," she said softly. "Are you afraid to go to sleep because of the visions?"

"Yes," Sirius hesitantly admitted, averting his eyes to his covers.

"Very well then, come with me for a while. The teachers are having tea together in our quarters to discuss the matter of the refugees." Turning to Kenji, who was listening to their conversation with apparent interest, she asked, "Would you like to join Sirius, Kenji?"

"Of course. Thank you, Mum," Kenji replied happily and jumped out of his bed.

"Thank you, Professor," Sirius said gratefully and followed Kenji's example.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

The teachers were sitting together in the Abes' living room, planning all the details of the new building they were going to magically set up in the morning.

"We need to cut down about one dozen khaki trees in order to fit the building in," the Headmaster said thoughtfully. "I suggest that we begin early in the morning so as not to upset the gods of the forest by cutting the trees by magical means. The trees belong to the forest that you can see from the windows looking out in the northern direction, and it's a Muggle forest," he explained to his new colleagues.

"I'll go and cut them right after our meeting," Ito offered.

"Very well," Abe said appreciatively, "then we can begin to set up the building right after breakfast."

During the next hour, the teachers arranged the tasks, before they finally decided to go to bed in order to get a few hours of sleep before they had to begin with their extraordinary undertakings.

"Sirius and Kenji, why don't you stay here in Kenji's room tonight?" Mami Abe suggested, glancing at her wrist watch.

'_I don't want to go to bed at all_,' Sirius mused, throwing the professor an anxious look.

"Sirius, you must go to bed and sleep," Mami said firmly, throwing Severus a pleading look.

However, before Severus could even open his mouth, Sirius was pulled into another vision. He saw a group of men in completely black clothing. They were wearing black hoods, so that he couldn't see the faces.

"Get to work," he heard himself hiss. "The Finch-Fletchleys are next." He pointed to a house, and the Death Eaters stormed forward.

Sirius was shaking badly as he began to throw up into a bucket that Mami held in front of him, while Severus was gently rubbing his back.

"He..." Sirius began to whimper. "Dad, just watch please; I can't tell you," he sobbed.

"Look at me, child," Severus said softly, before he cast the Legilimens spell and observed the horrible scene.

"I don't want to sleep now," Sirius mumbled when Severus pulled away, causing everyone, who had witnessed the scene, to look at them in concern.

"I don't think the Dark Lord will go anywhere else tonight," Severus replied calmingly, pulling a small phial out of his robe pocket. "Take this," he said softly. "It's a dreamless sleep potion. I'm not one hundred percent sure if it'll save you from the visions though."

Before Sirius could even think of a reply, he succumbed to the potion and drifted off to a peaceful slumber. By the time he woke up, feeling extremely refreshed, Kazumi was sitting on the edge of his bed, reading a comic. '_A History of Magical Japan_,' Sirius deciphered the title.

"Wow, that sounds interesting," he blurted out, causing Kazumi to let her book sink.

"Good morning, sleepy-head," she said softly. "It's Kenji's. I'll give it to you when I'm through with it. Get up quickly, so that we can join the others. They're setting up the new building."

Sirius quickly headed to the bathroom to get dressed and followed his friend out onto the grounds in excitement, realising that the new building already stood at the far end of the grounds. Everyone was inside the house, setting up small apartments for the families that were going to stay there.

It was nearly dinnertime, when everything was finished and the group returned to the school. For the first time in weeks, Sirius felt famished. '_Well, no wonder, considering that I didn't have anything to eat today_,' he thought as he took his usual seat between Kazumi and Kenji.

"Thank you, everyone, for helping us to build the house for the families who are going to arrive very early tomorrow morning. The Portkey should bring them here around six o'clock in the morning. Therefore I suggest that you all head to your beds early tonight," the Headmaster said, before the meal appeared on the tables.

"Did they say how many students are going to arrive tomorrow?" Sirius asked curiously.

"No, but I think they sent out invitations to thirty students," Kenji replied thoughtfully. "I don't know if all of them are willing to come here though, and as far as I heard, not all of them are Muggle borns. There are a few, whom Professor McGonagall invited personally, because she knows their parents."

'_If they're still alive_,' Sirius thought to himself but didn't voice his sad thoughts.

A few hours later, he was just pondering how he could manage to talk Mami into letting him stay up longer, when the Headmaster's voice sounded through the school.

"All students please report to the Planetarium immediately. Hurry up please; this is an emergency."

_tbc..._


	14. Chapter 14

**Chance Meeting at The Ink Pot **

**by teddylonglong**

_Thanks to my husband for beta-ing. Thank you very much for your kind reviews!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

_-----_

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Ten minutes later, everyone was assembled in the Planetarium, and the Headmaster informed them, "Yesterday, we cut down a dozen khaki trees. Although we did not even use magical methods to cut them down, we seem to have angered the tree gods because of not making an offering to them beforehand. I am very sorry for this grave mistake." He bowed deeply, before he continued, "Unfortunately, the tree gods sent ninja gnomes to eat all wooden parts of our main school building, and we must quickly work together to remove them away and de-gnome the school."

Teachers and students headed out onto the grounds, where they saw hundreds of small yellow creatures, picking at the wood at the bottom of the school building. They spent the next few hours on the grounds, trying to cast spells at the ninja gnomes, who unfortunately seemed to be resistant to most spells. Light was already beginning to slowly appear on the horizon, when Professor Ito finally managed to banish them with laser magic, causing everyone to sigh in relief.

"Thank you so much for your help. All students go to bed now quickly; the teachers help me repair the building please," the Headmaster announced.

However, before Sirius could even move, he felt himself being pulled into a vision. As usual, he was surrounded by his followers. However, tonight, he seemed to be in a very bad mood. "This is already the third address. Where are all the Muggle born students and their families tonight?" he hissed, before he began to curse every single Death Eater standing in front of him.

Sirius let out a groan, before he collapsed into unconsciousness on the ground.

"Mum, Professor Snape!" Kenji shouted, causing Severus, Poppy and Minerva, who were still nearby, to turn around and run over to the four friends.

Pomfrey pointed her wand at Sirius. "Enervate."

"Sirius," Severus said softly, kneeling down on the ground next to his son. "Another vision?"

"Yes, but it was horrible," Sirius replied miserably, and Kenji noticed that his limbs were shaking worse than after his normal visions.

"Sirius, are you all right?" he asked in concern and helped Poppy to pull Sirius into a sitting position, completely ignoring the fact that Mami Abe shooed their friends away.

"Here," Severus said, pressing a phial against his son's lips, glad that he had made it a habit to carry a dose of the anti cruciatus potion with him at all times in case Sirius would need it.

"Thank you," Sirius said gratefully, although he still felt the after effects of the curse. '_This was the worst so far_,' he thought and fiercely shook his head when Severus asked if he was ready to go to bed. "No," he said firmly. "The Dark Lord was so upset; he might be up to something else. May I stay up please? The refugees are going to arrive soon anyway, aren't they?"

"In a little more than an hour," Minerva replied after a glance at her wrist watch. "Shall we go and have some tea then?"

"We can have tea in our quarters," the Headmaster invited his colleagues. "Kenji, go to bed."

"No Dad. I'm going to remain with Sirius. If he stays up, so will I," Kenji replied firmly. "We can sleep in my room later on."

"Very well; discuss that with your mother," Abe replied, smirking, and led the small group to his private quarters.

Sirius and Kenji made themselves comfortable on the sofa between Mami Abe and Minerva, and it didn't take long until the boys were fast asleep, Kenji with his head on Mami's lap, Sirius leaned into Minerva's arm. Only an hour later, Sirius began to whimper miserably, and Minerva carefully shook his shoulder. However, she was not able to wake the boy.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to rouse him from a vision. I tried that before, but it didn't work," Mami informed her.

All of a sudden, Sirius jerked awake. He quickly looked around with panic flashing in his eyes, before he visibly relaxed and nestled deeper into Minerva's robes.

"Sirius, what happened?" Severus queried, casting a warming spell at Sirius' tea.

"They attacked the hospital... the wizarding hospital," Sirius explained in a barely audible voice.

"St. Mungo's?" Poppy asked in apparent concern, causing Sirius to look at Severus, silently inviting his father to cast the Legilimens spell.

"They destroyed huge parts of the hospital," Severus said gravely, "and the remaining parts are now in the hands of Death Eaters."

"I just hope Albus will be all right," Minerva said worriedly, just when a phoenix appeared with a bright flame. "Fawkes!" the Transfiguration professor blurted out in shock. "Is Albus all right?"

Fawkes nodded and hopped onto Sirius' lap. #Hello nestling,# he trilled. #I'm going to be your familiar, because I can't stay in the hospital with the old grumpy one anymore. Please tell the young Minnie that he is all right though.#

"Okay, Fawkes," Sirius replied dazedly, unable to believe that a phoenix had chosen to become his familiar. He quickly translated for the teachers as he noticed the questioning looks they were casting at him. '_Apparently, no one except for me can understand him_,' he realised. '_A phoenix familiar, and the former familiar of Dumbledore at that – that's so absolutely cool. Taiyo-kun is something like a familiar to me as well, but I can't take him into my room with me, while it's no problem to bring Fawkes_,' he thought happily, unaware of the smiles that spread over the adults' faces at his sight.

"I believe it's time to head out onto the grounds," the Headmaster suddenly spoke up. "If everything goes well, the Portkeys should arrive in fifteen minutes.

"May I come?" Sirius asked hesitantly, watching as Mami carefully lowered his sleeping friend onto the sofa.

"Of course you may," Mami replied gently. "As far as I know, there will be two students for your class. We're going to let Kenji sleep though."

Sirius excitedly followed the teachers out, smiling as the phoenix made himself comfortable on his shoulder. '_His feet tickle on my shoulder, but still it's great_,' he thought, yawning.

They didn't have to wait long as a huge number of people arrived with their Portkeys on time.

"Welcome to the Mirai school," the Headmaster greeted the refugees. "We are glad that you were able to escape from the war in your home country and are in safety. In a few minutes, the students will be taken to the common rooms of their year by their teachers, while I will lead their families to our new apartment house. House-elves will provide you with food and everything else that you will need for your daily life. Every day from nine o'clock in the morning until noon, a Japanese language and culture class will be held for you in the school building. I will come and fetch you for your first class tomorrow morning. In case there are wizards or witches among you, we will try to find a job for you within our school. Otherwise, you're free to search for a job outside, where we have a huge non-magical community, and we will of course help you. However, this will only be possible when you finish your language course, because this is a rural area, where hardly anyone speaks English outside of this school."

The teachers began to call the students according to their age, and Sirius stood behind Mami, observing with excitement how a girl and a boy of his age stepped over to his Head of year. Mami greeted them warmly. "You must be Hermione and Neville," she said, smiling. "I am Mami Abe, your Head of year, and this is Sirius Snape, one of your classmates. The others are still asleep I'm afraid."

"Will my parents be all right?" Hermione asked worriedly. "They are Muggles, and..."

"My husband will take good care of them," Mami replied soothingly. "Don't worry. They will be all right, and you'll be able to visit them whenever you want."

"Did your parents come here as well?" Sirius asked softly, turning to Neville, who seemed to be very frightened.

"No, my parents are ill and are in St. Mungo's, and my granny couldn't come because she didn't want to leave them alone," the boy replied sadly, fortunately too preoccupied to notice Sirius pale at the mentioning of the wizarding hospital.

"I'm afraid both of you will have to stay in a room by yourselves for the time being, since we have an uneven number of girls and boys now," Mami explained as she led the three students to the fifth year's common room.

"Professor," Sirius asked quietly, noticing that Neville seemed to be very sad and frightened, "couldn't we make two triple rooms? Neville can live with Kenji and me, and I'm sure Kazumi and Mandy wouldn't mind sharing their room with Hermione." He paused for an instant, while Mami threw the two new students an enquiring look, before he added, "I can understand that it's no pleasure to share a room with me, considering that I wake Kenji up with my visions every now and then..."

"Sirius!" Mami interrupted him sternly. "Kenji doesn't mind being woken up by your visions, and I can well imagine that Neville would prefer that to being all on his own."

"Yes Professor," Neville threw in quickly, "if Sirius and the other boy don't mind."

"Kenji won't mind, and I'm sure we're going to have much fun," Sirius replied, chuckling.

Mami smirked and led the students into Kenji's and Sirius' room, where she waved her wand a few times to enlarge the room and add a bed, a wardrobe, a desk and a chair as well as a perch for Fawkes on Sirius' side of the room, before she entered Kazumi's and Mandy's room and made the same changes for Hermione. Finally, she woke up Kazumi and introduced her to Hermione, before she instructed everyone to go to bed and get some sleep.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

During the remaining weeks of the holidays, Hermione and Neville had to participate in the Japanese language and culture class every morning; however, in the afternoon, Sirius, Mandy and the twins took care of their new friends, and the new group of six fifth years soon became inseparable.

It was a few months later that Kazumi suddenly stormed into the three boys' room, where her five friends were doing their homework.

"Slowly Kazumi," Kenji slightly admonished her, picking up his book from the floor, which she had just kicked down. "What's wrong and where have you been?"

"I heard something interesting," Kazumi panted, still out of breath from running. "I went to see Mum, and on the way back here I overheard Professor McGonagall speaking with Ryo-kun, one of the sixteen-year-olds. She told him what he had to consider if he wanted to try to become an Animagus." Looking at her friends in excitement, she asked, "Don't you think we should try becoming Animagi?"

"I'd love that. I'd love to become a kneazle cat," Hermione was the first to reply with apparent interest. "What exactly did the professor say?"

Kazumi chuckled. "She was scolding him because he didn't gather enough information about the animal, into which he wanted to transform, and apparently he tried to change his whole body at once, which didn't go well. Anyway, she told him that at first he had to imagine his mind to be that of the specific animal he chose, and then he should exactly envision what his left hand looks like in his Animagus form and then try to only change the left hand. Only after succeeding in transforming his left hand, he should try his right hand and so on."

"What do you think? Shall we try to become Animagi?" Sirius asked, carried away by Kazumi's and Hermione's enthusiasm.

"I don't think I'll be able to become an Animagus," Neville said sadly. "My granny always complains that my magic is not strong enough."

Kenji threw the other boy a sharp look. "Did you ever see Madam Pomfrey about that?"

Neville blushed and shook his head. "No, but it has always been like that."

"Well then I suggest that you talk to Professor Ito about the problem," Kenji said firmly. "I don't think that your magic is weak. You're fairly good at Laser Magic and also in Herbology, and don't tell me that it doesn't afford magic to make magical plants like pearl tulips grow five centimetres in two hours like you did last week."

"That's true," Hermione threw in thoughtfully. "Kenji is right, Neville. Try to speak with Professor Ito. Maybe he can help you."

"I can go with you if you want," Sirius offered, knowing that Neville seemed to be very shy and not self-confident at all.

"Thank you, Sirius. I really appreciate it," Neville said gratefully.

"Well, what animal forms are you going to choose?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"A magical lynx," the twins replied simultaneously, causing everyone to laugh.

"Oh cool, and I'm sure you're going to choose the same colour, so that we won't be able to keep you apart," Mandy chuckled. "I'd like to become a unicorn. Do you think a unicorn would be able to communicate with your cat forms?"

"All magical animals should be able to talk to one another," Neville said hesitantly. "If I'm able to transform at all, I'd choose a griffin. And you, Sirius?"

Sirius let out a long sigh. "I'm not sure," he said slowly. "On one hand, I'd like to become a phoenix like Fawkes, but on the other hand, I'd love to be able to transform into a hippogriff to be able to properly communicate with Taiyo-kun."

"A hippogriff would be a better match to all our forms," Kenji said thoughtfully.

"All right then, let's go to the library right after lunch tomorrow and find out as much as we can about these animals. Are we going to practise here in our room?" Seeing the others nod, he added, "I just hope Professor McGonagall won't catch us. I can't imagine that she'd appreciate it if we practised on our own."

"Well, don't practise on your own. At least two of us have to be together in case something happens," Kenji said sternly. "We can use the New Year holidays to practise. It's only three weeks until then anyway."

The winter holidays were going to begin on the twenty-third of December, the emperor's birthday, in spite of the fact that Christmas was not a holiday in Japan. Instead, the New Year feast was the most important holiday and lasted three days. This year, however, the Abes decided to celebrate Christmas as well in order to please the many refugees from Britain.

"Most Japanese people are Buddhists and Shintoists at the same time, and they're very open for other religions. Therefore, no one will mind celebrating Christmas according to British traditions," Mami Abe explained to her colleagues, before she asked Minerva and Poppy to tell her exactly how they had spent Christmas at Hogwarts during the previous years.

The six friends spent every free minute during the following weeks until the beginning of the holidays researching about their animals and trying to imagine being that animal, which was extremely difficult.

"At least you can try out if you're able to communicate with Taiyo-kun if you try to change your mind into that of a hippogriff," Mandy laughed as Sirius let out an exasperated sigh, "but where am I going to find a unicorn to practise?"

Sirius laughed, unaware of the fact that he was going to test his ability to communicate with Taiyo-kun sooner than he could imagine.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

It was on the last day of classes that the red team and the white team had another Hippolo match. Unfortunately, heavy snowfall made it hardly impossible to catch the Snitch, and after more than three hours of flying, Sirius and Taiyo-kun were both tired and somehow missed a Bludger that came straight into their direction. The Bludger forcefully hit Taiyo-kun's right wing and broke it, causing the hippogriff to become unbalanced and tumble downwards.

'_We're going to hit the ground_,' Sirius thought, panicking, when he suddenly heard Taiyo-kun whisper in a pain-stricken voice, "You must call the wind gods and ask for help."

'_Wind gods?_' Sirius thought in confusion, looking up at the heavy dark clouds with a pleading look. '_Please send us some wind that saves us from hitting the ground_,' he thought, unaware of how close to the ground they already were.

_tbc..._


	15. Chapter 15

**Chance Meeting at The Ink Pot **

**by teddylonglong**

_Thanks to my husband for beta-ing. Thank you very much for your kind reviews!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

_-----_

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Driven by an unseen force, Sirius and Taiyo-kun suddenly moved upwards, before they very slowly began to descend again and finally made a soft landing on the ground. In a daze Sirius climbed down from the injured hippogriff and buried his head in his father's robes, realising that he suddenly had a splitting headache.

"Sirius, are you injured?" Severus asked in concern. "I don't know how you managed to make such an unexpected soft landing, but I'm glad that you didn't hit the ground with full-force."

"Yeah, that's true," Sirius whispered miserably.

=That was not due to the wind gods. You did elemental magic. You called the wind for help,= he suddenly heard Taiyo-kun speak with him.

"The elements?" Sirius asked in confusion. "Wind magic? I don't understand," he mumbled, unaware of the concerned looks the adults around him exchanged.

"Are you all right?" Severus asked worriedly, trying to pry Sirius' head from his robes to get a good look at him.

"Mr. Snape, what is wrong?" Professor Ito queried, causing the boy to slowly move his head to the side.

"It's all right, sir. I was just surprised because Taiyo-kun told me that it wasn't the wind gods that saved us but the wind itself," Sirius replied in a barely audible voice. "How can the wind help us?"

"Is he delirious?" Severus quietly asked his colleague, who pulled out his laser wand and pointed it at Sirius.

"No Severus, his temperature is almost normal; however he has completely depleted his magic and therefore has a terrible headache." He let out a thoughtful sigh. "Mr. Snape, apparently you are able to call the elements, the wind in particular, for help. The use of elementary magic is a very rare ability, but it is said to happen from time to time, especially here in Japan. Unfortunately, you are still too young and your magic is still too weak to efficiently use this ability."

'_I'm already twelve_,' Sirius thought, before he asked, "Is Taiyo-kun all right?"

"Yes, he is, but you're not," Ito growled, turning to Poppy. "Take Snape with you."

"Very well; come on, Sirius. Let's see what we can do to make you feel better. Don't worry; I'll release you to your own room after you've taken a few potions." With that she dragged the protesting boy with her, smiling upon seeing that his best friends as well as Severus and Minerva were following them at a short distance. Pomfrey made Sirius sit on the first bed and made him drink several potions, before she said firmly, "You will be exempt from your classes until the beginning of the holidays, and I don't want you to do any magic whatsoever until at least Christmas day. Come to see me after breakfast every morning."

"Ah but…"

"No buts," Severus firmly interrupted his son. "You will do as you are told, and there are only three days of classes left anyway."

"If I may ask one question," Minerva threw in thoughtfully. "Sirius, you told us that you were able to understand what your hippogriff said. Have you always been able to communicate with him? Normally people can only understand what animals say, if they are Animagi and able to transform into that exact type of animal."

Sirius realised that the adults were looking at him expectantly and feverishly pondered how to reply without giving himself or his friends away. However, before he could come up with a good answer, he was pulled into a vision.

"Sirius, are you all right? Did something happen?" he heard his father's concerned voice when the vision was over.

"Yes, I'm fine. The Dark Lord was angry once again, because he asked his Death Eaters to search for the Muggle families with magical children for a Christmas raid and they couldn't find any," Sirius explained, grinning.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

During the following year, Professor Ito did intense research in order to find a method of eliminating or at least deactivating Sirius' scar. It was a few days before his fourteenth birthday that the professor addressed Severus and Sirius and informed them that he would like Sirius to come to the infirmary for an experiment.

"I cannot guarantee that it will work; however, the only way to find out is to try," the Healer explained to the Snapes.

"I want to try," Sirius replied immediately. During the last twenty months, he had been pulled into visions every so often, and getting rid of his scar was his greatest wish for the near future.

Severus thoughtfully looked at his son, before he queried, "What can happen to Sirius in the worst case?"

The Healer let out a long sigh. "Professor Abe and Madam Pomfrey will join us, so that they will be able to help Sirius in case he experiences any problems. Nevertheless, he might get headaches or other minor difficulties as after-effects of the spell. One more problem that could happen is that his magic tries to fight the spell. This is one of the points, which Professor Abe and Madam Pomfrey will check, and if it happens, they will try to suppress his magic; still it might lead to a temporary depletion of his magic. However, the spell will not be life threatening for him."

"Please Dad, let's try the spell," Sirius begged his father, who grudgingly agreed and promised to remain with Sirius, while Professor Ito cast the spell.

Together with Severus, Sirius followed Professor Ito into the infirmary, barely noticing that not only the Headmaster and Madam Pomfrey but also Mami and Minerva gathered around the bed to which the Healer motioned him.

"Lie down and relax," Ito instructed him. "Madam Pomfrey will monitor you all the time, and as soon as she realises that you're in pain, she will spell potions into your system or make you sleep right away."

Sirius threw his father a frightened look, feeling very much comforted when Severus gently squeezed his hand. "Okay, I'm ready," he told the Healer, before he closed his eyes, fiercely squeezing Severus' hand in anticipation of what was going to happen.

Mere seconds later, he felt an enormous pain in his head as the magical laser beam hit his scar, before the world turned black.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

When Sirius woke up, Kazumi and Kenji were sitting next to his bed playing wizard's chess. "Hi," Sirius said quietly.

"Sirius, you're awake!" Kazumi shouted in delight. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Sirius replied in confusion. "What happened? The last thing I remember is that Professor Ito cast a spell at me."

The twins sighed in apparent relief. "The laser beam that he cast at you caused you to fall into a coma for a week. I'm glad you seem to be all right now though."

Sirius smiled. "I'm fine. Let's leave."

The twins laughed, but before they could reply, Madam Pomfrey bustled into the room. She waved her normal wand over the boy, followed by her laser wand, before she said, "You still have your scar. Professor Ito did not manage to eliminate it. However, we are fairly sure that the connection to Voldemort is deactivated. Please inform us immediately if you experience any pain in your scar or if you receive any visions. If you're feeling well, you may leave now. However, you must not do any magic for another week."

"All right. Thank you, Aunt Poppy," Sirius replied, feeling all too happy to leave. He followed the twins into the Abes' quarters, wondering, '_Why are we going to their home and not into my father's quarters?_' When they crossed the living room, it was strangely dark. No light came in through the charmed windows, causing Sirius to wonder why. '_It was very bright and sunny in the infirmary_,' he thought, rubbing his forehead in confusion.

"Mum and Dad are doing some strange experiments," Kazumi explained, while they headed into Kenji's room that was as bright as the infirmary.

The three friends sat on the floor around a small table and made a few plans for the new school year that was going to begin on the first of April. "What day is it?" Sirius suddenly asked, having lost track of time due to the week that he had missed.

"Today is the 28th of March, so let's enjoy our last three days of peace," Kenji chuckled, "well, as quiet as it can be together with a permanently babbling sister."

"Kenji!" Kazumi shouted in annoyance and threw a cushion at her brother, causing Sirius to laugh.

"Kazumi, Sirius, Kenji, it's dinner time!" they suddenly heard Mami Abe's voice.

'_I should go home and speak with Dad_,' Sirius thought, still surprised that Severus hadn't come to fetch him or at least check on him. However, he quietly followed the twins out into the still dark living room.

All of a sudden, the room lit up, and many voices were shouting, "Happy Birthday, Sirius!"

Sirius looked around in shock. His father, Minerva, Poppy, the Abes, Hermione, Mandy and Neville were gathered around him, and the whole room was decorated with colourful balloons. "Thank you," he said in surprise, smiling when Hermione pulled him into a bear hug.

"Thank Merlin you're all right," the girl said. "I was so worried about you."

"We all were," Mandy agreed. "Is everything all right?"

"Of course," Sirius smiled, sighing in relief when everyone was finished hugging him.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Sirius was glad when the first week of the new school year was over and he was allowed to do magic again. He still couldn't believe that his connection to the Dark Lord was really gone; however, even until the beginning of the summer holidays, his scar didn't act up even once, and he thanked Professor Ito profusely.

One day, shortly before the beginning of the summer holidays, Severus kept Sirius back after his Potions class. When everyone else had left the classroom, he quickly waved his wand, casting a locking spell at the doors, before he turned to his son. "Sirius, the most famous Potions Master of Japan, Professor Uehara, invited me to spend a week together in his home in order to work on a project together. In fact, we have been working together on a potion for certain injuries resulting from laser magic accidents for about two years, and we're progressing so well that we hope to be able to make the final steps during that week."

"Of course you have to go, Dad," Sirius said, feeling very proud of his father.

"Thank you, my son," Severus replied, smiling at the boy. "Now, last night, I received a letter from him. His wife suggests that I bring my family in order to have a bit of a holiday as well. I asked Minerva if she would like to accompany you and me, and she agreed. Now I'd like to ask you if you're willing to come with us. Professor Uehara lives in Shuri, which is located on the island Okinawa in the very south west of Japan, and Mrs. Uehara offered to show you the island, while her husband and I are in the Potions lab." He raised an eyebrow at Sirius, who looked at him in awe.

"I'd love to come, Dad," he blurted out. "Won't Aunt Minerva mind though? Wouldn't she prefer to travel just with you?"

Severus smirked. "No Sirius. You're my son and belong to me. If Minerva wouldn't want you to be with us, she wouldn't come. Very well then, we're going to leave on Sunday morning right after breakfast. Cicero will pack everything you need for the week. Just so you know, Okinawa is a very hot place; it is said to be much warmer than here."

"All right, Dad. Thank you for taking me with you," Sirius replied happily and hurried to his next class. '_We're going on holidays. That's too cool_,' he thought, while he tried in vain to concentrate on his History of Magic class. '_And Aunt Minerva is coming with us. It's nearly as if we were a real family_.'

Sirius was pulled back to reality when Kazumi gave him a slight kick in the ribs. "Sirius, what happened? You look really happy."

Sirius quietly informed her about his father's plan, and the girl gave him a happy smile. "As much as I'm going to miss you, I'm so happy for you, Sirius," she said softly. "Do you think your father and Professor McGonagall are more than just colleagues or friends?"

For the rest of the class, Sirius pondered Kazumi's question. '_They have always been good friends_,' he thought. '_But perhaps there is more. Most times I go home, Aunt Minerva is there as well, and when I spend the weekends at home, she always comes for tea in the evening. Hmmm, maybe they like each other_.'

That evening, the relationship between the Potions Master and the Transfiguration teacher was the main topic for the six friends, who as usual gathered in Kenji's, Neville's and Sirius' room to do their homework together.

"Have you never observed them together in the Planetarium or such?" Hermione asked in disbelief. "They seem to be very close."

"That's true; especially since McGonagall was hit by the de-aging spell," Kazumi agreed. "Before that there was probably too much of an age difference."

The three boys rolled their eyes and chuckled, but Sirius thought that the girls were very observant. '_I just hope I'm not in their way_,' he thought as he went to bed that night.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

During their holidays, Sirius soon noticed that neither Severus nor Minerva seemed to think that he was in their way. On the contrary, Minerva seemed to enjoy having him with her when Mrs. Uehara took them on a sightseeing tour.

"Until the end of the nineteenth century, Okinawa didn't belong to Japan but was an independent kingdom. Shuri, where we live, was the capital city," Mrs. Uehara informed them as she took them to the castle that had been rebuilt a few years ago. She showed them around for a while, until Sirius pointed to two parallel rails a few meters above the street, giving the kind woman a curious look.

"That's the monorail," Mrs. Uehara explained. "It is still new and was only built a few years ago. Do you want a ride?" Seeing Sirius and Minerva nod interestedly, she led them to the monorail.

They travelled to Naha, the newer part of the island's capital, enjoying the landscape on their way, and went to see the old market. Never before had Sirius seen so many fish in a market and suddenly Minerva let out a small cry – the fish were still moving. '_Japan is absolutely amazing_,' Sirius thought when he tiredly scrambled into bed that night.

A few days later, Mrs. Uehara made a Portkey to the northern part of the island, where they visited the world's biggest aquarium. After visiting a dolphin show, which both of them had never had the opportunity to watch before, they took a magical bus back to Shuri.

"The bus reminds me of the Knight Bus. We have a similar magical bus in Britain," Minerva said, while the bus jumped through the beautiful landscape much too fast for their liking.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

On the last evening before their return to the Mirai school, Minerva, Severus and Sirius spent some time on a very quiet and beautiful beach. They enjoyed their picnic dinner that the Ueharas' elves had prepared for them, before they sat in the shadow next to the sea and enjoyed the evening sun.

"Sirius, there are two things, which we want to talk with you about," Severus thoughtfully began to speak, and Sirius noticed immediately that both points seemed to be topics that his father would rather not speak about.

_tbc..._


	16. Chapter 16

**Chance Meeting at The Ink Pot **

**by teddylonglong**

_Thanks to my husband for beta-ing. Thank you very much for your kind reviews!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

_-----_

* * *

**Chapter 16**

Seeing that Sirius looked at him with interest, Severus explained, "Minerva and I are planning to get married this summer, and I..."

"Oh Dad, that's too cool," Sirius interrupted his father in excitement. "Congratulations, Aunt Minerva and Dad. I'm very happy." He hesitated for an instant, before he asked in a soft voice, "Are we going to be a real family then?"

While Severus looked at his son in surprise, Minerva smiled and replied gently, "Yes Sirius, we'll be a real family if that's what you want."

The small family sat quietly on a rock near the water and observed the sun as it appeared to sink into the ocean, before Severus spoke up again and told Sirius about the prophecy.

"Is that really true?" Sirius asked in shock.

"Do you know me as someone, who would joke about something like that?" Severus asked shot back. "The Abes know about it, and we have been thinking about what to do for a few years. However, it was only recently that Professor Ito told me that he had an idea but that it was very complicated and that he had to perform many tests and a lot of research, before he could come up with a detailed plan. However, he said that he needed your help. I'm not sure what it is about, although I suspect that it involves laser magic, but maybe he'll tell you more if you ask him about it when we're back home."

"I'll do that," Sirius said in excitement. For a few years, he had been a bit afraid of the very harsh Professor Ito; however, over time he had become used to the professor's behaviour, and especially after the teacher had helped him by deactivating his scar, Sirius felt very grateful towards the man and knew that he could fully rely on him.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

When they returned to the Mirai school, Sirius was immediately reminded of the matter because of a message that Severus received from the owner of The Inkpot through his wiz-2-wiz connection.

'_Professor Snape, you did a good thing to leave Hogwarts when you did. There was a large scale battle at the castle right before the beginning of the holidays, and the castle is said to be destroyed to a large extent._ _The magical world of Britain is at war_,' it said in the message.

'_And I am the one who is supposed to finish that war?_' Sirius thought incredulously. '_I have no idea how to defeat Voldemort. Of course laser magic is more powerful than normal magic, but still I'll have to be able to cast a spell, before he sends the killing curse at me_.'

"Sirius, don't worry too much," Minerva said in a soft voice. "We're all here to help you, and we don't even know if the prophecy is accurate at all."

"Thank you," Sirius said, feeling very much consoled by the kind words.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

It was a few days later that Mami Abe came into Kenji's room, where Kenji, Kazumi and Sirius were working on their assignments. "Sirius, I'd like to discuss something with you," she said softly and, seeing that the boy looked up from his book, continued, "My colleagues and I are planning a honeymoon for your father and Professor McGonagall. Therefore, I'd like to ask you if you would like to go with them or if you prefer to stay here with us for the week."

Sirius gave her a surprised look. "I don't know, but people normally go on a honeymoon without children, don't they? I think I should let them go alone and stay at home. Thank you for asking though."

Mami gently ruffled his hair. "Are you sure, sweetie? I'm sure that your parents wouldn't mind taking you with them at all. But if you wish to stay here, you could come and stay in Kenji's room, so that you don't have to stay in your quarters all by yourself."

"Thank you very much," Sirius said gratefully. "I'd probably prefer to remain in Kenji's and my room in the school rather than sleep in our quarters when Dad isn't there, but I'd love to stay here with Kenji."

A few days later, Sirius had the same discussion with Severus and Minerva, who apparently intended to take him with them; however, Sirius remained firm and insisted on staying at home, telling the two adults how much fun he was going to have together with the twins.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

However, on the day when Minerva and Severus left for their honeymoon in Australia, Professor Ito called Sirius into his office and informed him that he and the Headmaster were now researching a method to eliminate Severus' Dark Mark with magical laser similar to the method they had used to deactivate his scar. The professors told Sirius that they would like him to join them in their research, because the research might help him on his way to defeating the Dark Lord using Laser magic.

"Excuse me, Professors, but why do we have to deactivate his mark at all?" Sirius asked in confusion. '_Dad never said anything that it was bothering him in any way_,' he thought.

"We believe that you might be able to cast a collective laser spell at the Dark Lord and all of his followers. Of course we still need to do a lot of research and it might take a few years until you're ready; however, if you manage to cast such a spell, your father will be hit by it as well if he still has the Dark Mark," the Headmaster explained patiently.

"Oh, that's true," Sirius agreed, and after a few weeks of research they were sure that it had to be possible to use a slightly modified version of the method that had led to the deactivation of Sirius' scar for the Dark Mark as well.

However, Severus refused vehemently to allow Professor Ito to cast the spell. "Sirius was in a coma for a week, which I do not want to experience in the middle of the school year. You may cast the spell at the beginning of the winter holidays. Apart from that, it wouldn't do good to completely vanish the dark magic. You should transfer the mark to an object in case we need it to attack the Dark Lord at a later time."

"Your magic is much stronger than that of Sirius. I won't put you in a coma," Ito growled, "and we can transfer the mark to a teddy bear or whatever. That's no problem."

However, Severus did not give in, and it was on the first day of the winter holidays that he allowed his colleague to cast the spell. To Sirius' displeasure, Professor Ito threw him out of the infirmary as soon as he was ready to begin.

"I'm good enough to help with the research, but I can't watch when you finally cast it," the boy blurted out, feeling very upset about the matter on top of his concern for his father.

"This is nothing for children to watch," Ito growled.

'_I have to endure everything like an adult; in such cases they suddenly tell me I was a child_,' Sirius thought angrily but allowed Minerva to pull him out of the room. Minerva conjured a sofa in the corridor in front of the infirmary and motioned for Sirius to sit down, before she gently pulled him into an embrace.

"Mum, will Dad be all right?" Sirius asked in a tear-stricken voice. "I wasn't at first and..." He slowly trailed off.

"Sirius, your father has endured much worse in the past. He is a very powerful adult wizard, while you are still a child. A person's magic normally reaches its optimum level with sixteen or seventeen years. Therefore, I'm sure that Professor Ito would have preferred to cast the spell on you in two years' time, but you wouldn't have wanted to wait so long, would you?"

"No," Sirius said thoughtfully and wiped an errand tear from his cheek, feeling very much consoled by Minerva's words.

"Did you think of anything to give your father for Christmas?" Minerva efficiently changed the topic.

"Yes, of course," Sirius replied, smiling. "As you know Neville is able to conjure earth magic like I'm able to summon wind magic. Anyway, he grew the Incongenia plant for me, a very rare plant, and I cast a laser beam on the leaves to make them useful as Potions ingredients. I know that Dad said something about a potion, which he and his colleague in Okinawa were asked to brew by the distributor of all magical apothecaries in Japan, but both of them had to decline, because they couldn't lay their hands on that special ingredient."

"Oh right, I remember how disappointed your father was. He even tried to get the leaves in Britain to no avail. And now you're going to give him these leaves?" Minerva asked in surprise.

Sirius nodded, smiling, just when Severus stepped out of the infirmary, chuckling at the scene in front of him. "Cuddling hour?" he asked dryly.

"Oh Dad, are you all right?" Sirius asked excitedly as he freed himself from Minerva's embrace and slightly hugged his father.

"Yes of course; everything is all right. The Dark Mark is completely gone," Severus replied, pushing up his left sleeve. "Ito's teddy bear has it now."

"Minerva," Professor Ito, who had just joined them, spoke up. "Take your husband home and make him rest for the remainder of the day. I don't want to see him gallivanting around the school until he is due here for a check-up tomorrow morning."

"I will," Minerva promised, grinning at Severus, who was rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Snape," Ito turned to Sirius, "my office nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir," Sirius replied obediently, although his mind screamed, '_Do we have to begin our next step of research on Christmas Eve? Can't we even take a few days off?_'

"Probably not," Severus said compassionately when Sirius voiced his question later on in their quarters. "The Dark Lord kills more Muggles every day and urgently needs to be stopped. I'll join you in the morning though. Maybe there is anything I can do to help."

"Thank you, Dad," Sirius replied gratefully, feeling very consoled at the thought of his father joining the research for a spell against the Dark Lord.

Severus slightly inclined his head, before he gave Minerva a pointed look. "Sirius, there is something else we'd like to speak about. I'm not sure if you realised that you called me 'Mum' earlier when we were waiting for your father." Seeing from the corner of her eyes that Sirius blushed deeply, she continued, "I'd love you to continue calling me that as I intend to be a mother for you if you need me. Apart from that, you will become a big brother in about three months' time."

Sirius looked up in surprise. "I'm going to get a baby sister or brother?" he asked, and to his parents' relief, a huge smile spread across his face. "That's absolutely cool," he said in amazement. "What is it going to be?"

"A monkey," Severus threw in, smirking.

Minerva shot him a playful glare, before she replied, "It's a girl, and we thought that you might like to choose the name for your baby sister, hmm?"

Sirius swallowed, before he looked at his parents in shock. "You want me to name the baby?" he asked in disbelief.

"Well, 'Monkey' is out of the question," Severus smirked.

"I'll think about it," Sirius promised as his thoughts went haywire. He remained quiet for a while, observing his parents quietly talk with each other, before he asked, "Is it all right if I go to see Kazumi and Kenji for a while?"

"Of course," Severus said gently. "Please be back around lunchtime, because we're going to make a trip to Tokyo in the afternoon. We're only waiting for the Headmaster to make the Portkey for us."

It was in the evening of Christmas day, when the Snapes were sitting in the living room of their quarters, each of them engrossed in one of the books that they had received for Christmas, when Sirius spoke up thoughtfully. "Ai," he suddenly said, looking at his parents. "Why don't you name her Ai? Since it means love in Japanese, it would be great to show her that we all love her very much right from the beginning."

"That's a wonderful name," Minerva said warmly, "and I suggest that we choose Lily as her second name in memory of Sirius' mother. Ai Lily Snape sounds good."

"An agreeable name," Severus stated, grinning. "Sirius, I suggest that you speak Japanese with your little sister from birth onwards, so that she learns about the meaning of her name 'right from the beginning'."

"I can do that. She'll need to learn it anyway," Sirius replied, raising an eyebrow in a very Snape-ish manner. '_As her big brother, I'm partly responsible for her education; maybe I should really speak Japanese with her_,' he resolved.

Ai was born on the day before Sirius' birthday. Sirius lazily opened his eyes in the morning, noticing in surprise that Mami Abe was sitting on the edge of his bed. "Did something happen?" he asked quickly, suddenly feeling fully awake.

"Congratulations Sirius. You're a big brother now. Your baby sister Ai-chan was born this morning," Mami said gently.

"Can I go and see her?" Sirius asked eagerly.

"Of course," Mami smiled. "Get ready, and then you can go to see them. They're in a small room behind Madam Pomfrey's office."

Ten minutes later, Sirius stormed into the small room. "Where is she? May I hold her?" he blurted out in excitement.

"Good morning to you too, sweetie," Minerva replied, chuckling.

However, Severus shook his head. "Now Sirius, sit down here and relax for a moment. I can understand that this is exciting, but you need to calm down, before we can give you the baby. Did you wash your hands by the way?"

"Sorry; yes, I did right before I came here," Sirius said and obediently sat on the chair next to his father. "May I please now..."

"Ai-chan, the wild one here is Sirius, your big brother," Severus told his daughter and carefully laid her in Sirius' arms.

"Aww, she's so sweet," Sirius said in amazement and began to speak with his sister in very simple Japanese, smiling as the baby held his small finger in her tiny hand with a strong grip.

During the following year, Sirius proved to be an excellent baby-sitter. While Minerva took the baby to class with her as long as she was breast-feeding. Sirius often joined his parents in the evening, helping to bathe her and put her back to bed. After the first six months, his parents even allowed him to take her with him to the room that he shared with Kenji and Neville, and the baby seemed to absolutely adore her big brother.

At the same time, Sirius spent much time with Professors Abe and Ito doing research on a possible way to get rid of the Dark Lord. Severus, Minerva, Poppy and Mami also joined them from time to time, and they experimented with several approaches involving laser spells, potions, Portkeys and the teddy that was bearing the Dark Mark. However, it was at the birthday party for his sixteenth birthday that Sirius had his most brilliant idea when he looked at the beautifully decorated Planetarium.

"Dad, I urgently need to speak with you," he suddenly said and pressed Ai, whom he was feeding small pieces of his birthday cake, into her mother's arms, before he quickly strode out of the Planetarium.

"What's wrong with him?" Minerva asked in concern, while she tried to calm down her daughter, who began to wail at the sudden loss of her brother.

"Jiji baaah," Ai screamed, hitting her mother's arms that didn't allow her to take off after her adored big brother.

"No Ai-chan, Sirius is not bad. I'm sure he'll continue feeding you his cake as soon as he is back," Minerva said soothingly, putting a small strawberry into the baby's mouth.

"I'll go after him," Severus said calmingly and quickly followed Sirius with his robes billowing behind him. A few minutes later, he was back and gave his wife a calming nod, before he urgently called Professors Abe and Ito and motioned them to follow him. "Please excuse us for a few minutes. Sirius had an idea, which I believe to be the breakthrough for our research concerning the war in Britain."

_tbc..._

_To all those who only read this last chapter: McGonagall was de-aged during this story and is Snape's age (since several people asked me...)._


	17. Chapter 17

**Chance Meeting at The Ink Pot **

**by teddylonglong**

_Thanks to my husband for beta-ing!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

_-----_

* * *

**Chapter 17**

During the following three months until the beginning of the summer holidays, Sirius, Neville and most of the professors of the Mirai school worked together to develop a combination of a spell, a potion, a Portkey, the Dark Mark on the teddy bear, Neville's earth magic and Sirius' wind magic. Unfortunately, they did not have a possibility to try out their combination as they would have only one chance to cast it properly. The professors decided that Sirius and Neville should cast the spell together with Professors Abe, Ito and Severus.

They chose the thirty-first of July, because it was the day after Neville's sixteenth birthday and Sirius' secret birthday, for their attack. After a potions induced good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast, the two students and three professors gathered on the grounds. Neville and Sirius summoned the earth and wind magic for help, and the spectators, who were watching the scene from a safety distance, felt the ground and the air vibrate with magic, when the five wizards pointed their laser wands at the small teddy bear that was lying on the ground and cast their spell. When they were finished and let their wands sink, the teddy bear rose into the air, and a huge whirlwind shot up catapulting it higher and higher into the air at an incredibly fast speed, until it completely vanished from sight. The small group stood there unmoving for another twenty minutes, before the wind and the earth calmed down completely.

Madam Pomfrey rushed to the five wizards and handed each of them an extra strong Pepperup potion, which Sirius and the others gulped down gratefully.

"Do you think we managed to succeed?" said Sirius, the first to speak.

"We can only wait and see," Ito replied darkly.

"I'll write to the owner of the Inkpot and ask him if he can find out something for us," Severus promised, before the Headmaster ushered everyone into the Planetarium, where the house-elves served tea and rice crackers for everyone.

After taking a few sips of his green tea, the Headmaster rose from his seat. "Otsukaresama deshita (well done), everyone. Some of you might wonder what the spell was supposed to do. We still don't know if it worked, but we hope so. Our spell was supposed to send the teddy bear with the Dark Mark to Mars. If everything works out, the teddy bear will summon everyone bearing the Dark Mark, which means the Dark Lord AKA Voldemort and all of his followers will be sent to Mars. Instead of killing hundreds of people like the other side does, we decided to give our enemies a minor chance of survival, because there has been water on the Mars before and a wizard should be able to recall it, provided his bubblehead charm provides enough oxygen and his climatization charm can withstand the extremes in temperature. Now we only have to wait for the good news from Britain that our efforts were fruitful."

"Jiji fy Ai-cha?" Ai was the first to break the stupor that followed the Headmaster's announcement.

"Yeah, I'll take you flying in a minute," Sirius promised. On her first birthday, his parents had grudgingly allowed him to take Ai with him to fly on Taiyo-kun, after he had convinced them that the wind would help him and Ai if they had any problems in the air, and his sister had enjoyed herself immensely.

In the morning, Severus received a message from the owner of the Inkpot.

'_Professor Snape,  
__Magical Britain is in uproar. There was a huge storm yesterday, and many people have vanished into thin air as it seems. As far as I can judge the situation, all of them were Death Eaters though. I'll send you more information as soon as I have any_.'

During the following weeks, the Daily Prophet, which Severus still received every day through the owner of The Inkpot, was full of articles about persons, who had gone missing during the invisible attack that had taken place on the thirty-first of July.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

However, it was nearly fourteen months later, when a barn owl suddenly appeared with a letter from Amelia Bones, the new Minister of Magic.

'_Dear Professor McGonagall_,' it began.  
'_As you might have heard from the news, the war in the British wizarding world ended a few months ago, and I have been appointed the Minister of Magic. One of my plans is to re-build Hogwarts, and I would like you to supervise the re-building effort and become the new Headmistress. Of course you have full leeway and may organise the school and choose the staff to your liking. I hope that this owl will reach you, since I am not aware where to find you. Nevertheless, I hope that you will accept my offer and I hear from you soon_.'

"She doesn't know that I'm de-aged and have a baby," Minerva said, chuckling, before her features became pensive.

"Minerva, we love having you here, but we can understand that this is a special opportunity for you, and we would be willing to help with the re-building and to co-operate with a Hogwarts-Mirai school in Britain," the Headmaster said gently. "It would be a great chance to establish a system of student exchange between our two countries. Please don't misunderstand me. It's not that we want you to leave."

"I know what you mean," Minerva said softly. "I am Scottish, and Hogwarts was my home before I came here, but since this decision involves my husband and my son as well, we'll have to think about it."

"Well, I'm going to take my NEWTs in five months, and I'd love to teach afterwards, provided that I'll be able to do so where my family is," Sirius spoke up.

"I don't mind if I'm teaching here or at a new Hogwarts-Mirai school," Severus spoke up thoughtfully.

本屋さんでの偶然の出会い

Two years later, the new Hogwarts-Mirai school opened. It was built on the old walls of Hogwarts and was connected to the Mirai school in Japan by a direct broadband Floo connection, which allowed the teachers and students of both schools to travel between the schools at any time. While Minerva became the Headmistress of the new school, Hermione, Kazumi, Mandy, Poppy, Severus, Sirius, Kenji and Neville became the teachers. The students of both schools were able to choose their elective subjects from both schools, and the teachers worked closely together and once a week met for a common staff meeting, taking turns to gather at Hogwarts or at the Mirai school.

**Epilogue 1**

"Hello Houston – This is Stellar Explorer 1 orbiting Mars."

"Stellar Explorer 1, we are receiving you loud and clear. How is the geological survey going guys?"

"Hello Houston – you would not believe some of the formations that we have charted. Yesterday, we found one that even looked like it was man-made in the shape of a snake and a skull. Nature can produce some scary phenomena. It looks really spooky and even glows. Mission specialist Travers said it must be a combination of wind erosion and naturally occurring silicon crystals…"

**Epilogue 2**

Sirius and his fiancée Kazumi entered The Ink Pot with five-year-old Ai in tow after admiring the old facade for a few minutes. He turned to the owner of the bookshop. "Good morning. I just came to bring you the Hogwarts-Mirai lists for the next school year."

"Good morning, Professor Abe, Professor Snape. Thank you so much for handing in the lists so early. I really appreciate it," the owner of the bookshop said, slightly inclining his head.

Ai looked around the huge store that had looked so small from the outside in amazement. "Where is the secret door?" she asked with interest.

The owner laughed. "You mean the door leading to the magical section?" he asked, smiling. Seeing the small girl nod in excitement, he explained, "When your father and brother returned to Britain and learned that Flourish and Blotts, who occupied the site beforehand, was destroyed in the war, they suggested that I move, and they transferred The Inkpot to this location. Therefore, I gave up the Muggle section of the shop and made The Inkpot the world's biggest magical bookshop. You can be very proud of your father and your big brother."

"I know. Sirius is the bestest brother in the world. He teaches new magical contraptions and sends people to Mars," Ai said, smiling, "and this is the bestest bookshop, because Dad said everything started here."

"And you're the world's best little sister," Sirius laughed. "Now shall we go and eat an ice cream?" Together with his fiancée and his sister, he left The Inkpot, thinking, '_and I'm the happiest wizard on earth_.'

**The End**

_Thank you so much for your kind support throughout this story!_


End file.
